Germinal is the novel written by Émile Zola. This novel is often considered Zola's masterpiece and one of the most significant novels in the French tradition. The storyline depicts an uncompromisingly harsh and realistic story of a coalminers' strike in northern France in the 1860s. The title itself has a symbolic meaning for the storyline: the word Germen is a Latin word which means "seed" and it transcends into the novel, which describes the hope for a better future that seeds amongst the miners.