"De drie steden: Rome" by Émile Zola is a novel published in 1896 as the second volume of his Three Cities trilogy. The story follows Father Pierre Froment to Rome, where he defends his book against possible censorship by the Catholic Church. A melodramatic love story unfolds as Zola portrays the Pope, clergy, and three dimensions of Rome—ancient, religious, and modern. Through this journey, Zola explores the possibility of a "neo-Christianity" reconciling faith with modern consciousness at the turn of the century. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
These books are free to read. Each is in the public domain in the United States; check your own country's rules before you copy or share one.
