Originally published in serial form in 1884 to 1885, "Germinal" is Émile Zola's realistic depiction of the coalminers' strike in northern France in the 1860s. In this faithful translation from the original French by Havelock Ellis, the story centers on Étienne Lantier, a young migrant worker who arrives at the coalmining town of Montsou in search of work. Set against a backdrop of extreme poverty and oppression, "Germinal" is the story of the idealistic...

When Pullman Car Works employees walk out in protest over their wages and high rent, Olivia Mott is torn between her loyalty to the company and her love for Fred DeVault, in this action-packed finale to the bestselling historical series.

Adrian Monk is horrified when he learns there is going to be a blue flu in San Francisco. He doesn't understand what the blue flu is-but it sounds terrible. Captain Stottlemeyer explains that it's not really a virus: the police force plan to call in "sick" until they get a better contract. The good news is that the labor dispute will give Monk a chance to get back on the force. The bad news is that it means he'll be a "scab"-and he doesn't like the...

When Emma and her brothers and sisters want to get a kitten and another ferret, and Emma wants their nanny to be the chaperone on her soccer team trip instead of her mother, the children decide to go on strike to try to force their parents to meet their demands.