Eugène Sue
born Jan. 26,
1804, Paris, France
died Aug. 3, 1857, Annecy, Savoy
French author of sensational novels of the seamy
side of urban life and a leading exponent of the
roman-feuilleton (“newspaper serial”). His
works, although faulted for their melodramatics,
were the first to deal with many of the social
ills that accompanied the Industrial Revolution
in France.
Sue’s early
experiences as a naval surgeon prompted his
first books, several highly coloured sea stories
(e.g., Plik et Plok, 1831). He also wrote a
number of historical novels and worked as a
journalist. Having inherited a fortune from his
father, Sue became a well-known dandy. His
carriage and horses, pack of beagles, and
displays of luxury made him the talk of Paris.
He was one of the first members of the exclusive
French Jockey Club (1834). He depicted
contemporary “high life” in Arthur (1838) and
Mathilde (1841). The latter showed socialist
tendencies, and Sue turned in this direction in
Les Mystères de Paris (1842–43; The Mysteries of
Paris)—which influenced Victor Hugo’s Les
Misérables—and Le Juif errant (1844–45; The
Wandering Jew). Published in installments, these
long but exciting novels vastly increased the
circulation of the newspapers in which they
appeared. Both books display Sue’s powerful
imagination, exuberant narrative style, and keen
dramatic sense. These qualities, along with
Sue’s realistic and sympathetic depictions of
the urban poor, help to compensate for his
implausible plots and one-dimensional
characters. Sue’s other books are less
successful.
After
participating in the 1848 Revolution, Sue was
elected Socialist deputy for the Seine in 1850.
He opposed Louis Napoleon’s coup d’état in 1851,
went into exile at Annecy, Savoy (then
independent of France), and remained there until
his death.
