Captain Burle is a short novella in four chapters by Emile Zola. The title character is an army quartermaster whose best days are long behind him. A widower, he lives in a squalid hovel with his mother and son. In the early days of his military career, he showed signs of heroic promise, but these days he’s content to contribute the bare minimum to his nation in exchange for an adequate paycheck. Much of his income is squandered on gambling and a woman of ill repute. His mother, the stern widow of a distinguished colonel, is ashamed of her son and laments his lost potential. One stormy night, her son’s commanding officer shows up on her doorstep. Major Laguitte has discovered that Burle is stealing funds from the army coffers. In order to save his old friend from a court-martial and hanging, as well as cover his own hide, Laguitte looks for a way to quickly and discreetly resolve the matter before any of the military higher-ups find out the money is missing. (Amazon)
Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola French; 2 April 1840 – 29 September 1902 was a French novelist, playwright, journalist, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism. He was a major figure in the political liberalisation of France and in the exoneration of the falsely accused and convicted army officer Alfred Dreyfus, which is encapsulated in the renowned newspaper headline J'accuse. Zola was nominated for the first and second Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901 and 1902.