^Lawson A. Carter, Zola and the Theater (1977) ISBN9780837196596 p. 200: "in Zola's conception Lazarus prefers the peace of death to the suffering of life. Appearing with the Christ are Lazarus' mother, ... not possible to say whether this particular passage of the novel preceded the play, or vice versa. Lazare was the first libretto which Zola wrote for Bruneau, ante-dating Messidor. Bruneau recognized at once the difficulty of finding a producer ..."
