On Monday the 14th of February Michael Rosen, author of one hundred and forty books and Children's laureate, met an attentive crowd in Conway hall to introduce us to the allusive French hero Émile Zola. Unsuprisingly given his television and radio appearances, Michael is an extremely enigmatic speaker and was introduced by the evenings hostess Erica Wagner as a man who 'used words to inspire, uplift and educate'. Michael begins by introducing his audience to the French novelist who became involved with the infamous 'Dreyfus case' which left him exiled. A challenging romantic life and political instability 'obliged (Zola) to call upon moral courage' as he was forced to leave France. Arriving in Victoria station where both culture, language, and perhaps more importantly for Zola - food, were foreign to him Émile found refuge in South London. Here Zola continued to write, observing British culture and indulging in his passion for photography, the idea that 'he devised the selfie' by taking a picture of the whole family with his foot sending the audience into a fit of laughter.

Ultimately, Zola has created a legacy, whilst his literary work was deemed 'filthy' and unrespectable by many in this social historical context, he depicted the era in which he lived and made explicit the lives of those living in the 'lower orders', this frankness giving dignity to vulnerable members of society. 

Michael proceeds to describe the personal influences of Zola, 'J'Accuse has always been a heroic document in my family', Émile's successes in spite of not having attended university and having greatly struggled to attain his baccalaureate an inspiration to all in our modern day society where young adults are experiencing an unprecedented, and arguably detrimental, pressure to succeed.

From this remarkable man we learn that the failure of which we are so afraid, does not truly exist - it is in fact simply a change of direction.