Search for
Search for
Search forUpper Norwood through a famous exile's camera lens
Sunday, August 17, 2008, 07:00
But through his passion for photography he left behind a unique insight into how Croydon looked in the late 1800s.
In self-imposed exile from France during the Dreyfus Affair in which he defended an army officer wrongly convicted of treason, Zola was sent cameras from his friends back home.
During his stay at the Queen's Hotel the famous author would stroll around taking pictures of the local scenery.
These ranged from shops in the Upper Norwood Triangle to cyclists heading down Cypress Road, South Norwood.
Describing Zola's short eight-month stay, Anna Lines, secretary of The Norwood Society, said: "He felt he didn't want to be here.
"Zola was very lonely and he was only here (in England) for less than a year.
"He took refuge in his work and to pass the time. He also went in for photography, an art that he had taken up some years earlier.
"The photographs he took are all within walking distance of the Queen's Hotel."
Zola took more than 100 photographs during his stay in Upper Norwood.
Mrs Lines said: "They show a remarkable insight into the everyday life of a developing suburb."
Having been allowed to return to Paris in June 1899, Zola died from carbon monoxide poisoning in September 1902.
He was 62 and his enemies were blamed for his death, but nothing was proven.
His pictures of the borough were left in storage until the early 1990s when they were collated into a book by the Norwood Society.
Mrs Lines said: "The pictures found their way back to France and lay undiscovered for many decades.
"It is so important to keep a record and preserve some of the heritage of the area where possible.
"The layout of the streets is still the same – they are very recognisable.
"And the clothes are beautiful – the women really took care of themselves. I think Zola definitely had an eye for the ladies."
A copy of the book 'Emile Zola Photographer in Norwood' is available through the website www.norwoodsociety.co.uk at £6.95 plus postage and packing. Or you can order a copy by phone on 020 8653 8768.
LONG AND WINDING ROAD: A view down Hermitage Road
Be the first to comment