Eugène Sue

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For the 1974 biographical film, see Eugène Sue (film).
"Marie Sue" redirects here. For the term in fan fiction, see Mary Sue.

Eugène Sue

Portrait of Eugene Sue (1835)

by François-Gabriel Lépaulle [fr]

Born Joseph Marie Eugène Sue

26 January 1804
Paris

Died 3 August 1857 (aged 53)

Annecy-le-Vieux, Kingdom of Sardinia

Resting place Cimetière de Loverchy, Annecy

Occupation Novelist

Language French
Nationality French

Education Lycée Condorcet

Period 1830–1857

Literary movement Romanticism

Notable works The Mysteries of Paris, The Wandering Jew

Notable awards Legion of Honour

French literature

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Marie-Joseph "Eugène" Sue (French pronunciation: [ø.ʒɛn sy]; 26 January 1804 – 3 August 1857)
was a French novelist. He was one of several authors who popularized the genre of the serial
novel in France with his very popular and widely imitated The Mysteries of Paris, which was
published in a newspaper from 1842 to 1843.[1]

Contents

 1Early life
 2Literary career
 3Political career
 4Legacy
 5References
 6External links

Early life[edit]
He was born in Paris, the son of a distinguished surgeon in Napoleon's army, Jean-Joseph Sue, and
is said to have had the Empress Joséphine for godmother. Sue himself acted as surgeon both in
the 1823 French campaign in Spain and at the Battle of Navarino in 1827.[2] In 1829 his father's
death put him in possession of a considerable fortune, and he settled in Paris.[3]

Literary career[edit]
His naval experiences supplied much of the materials of his first novels, Kernock le
pirate (1830), Atar-Gull (1831), La Salamandre (2 vols., 1832), La Coucaratcha (4 vols., 1832–
1834), and others, which were composed at the height of the Romantic movement of 1830. In the
quasi-historical style he wrote Jean Cavalier, ou Les Fanatiques des Cevennes (4 vols., 1840)
and Latréaumont (2 vols., 1837).[3] His Mathilde (6 vols.,[4] 1841) contains the first known expression
of the popular proverb "La vengeance se mange très-bien froide",[4] translated in 1846 as "Revenge
is very good eaten cold" by D.G. Osborne,[5] also constituting the first known English usage of the
proverb, and lately expressed in English as "Revenge is a dish best served cold".[6]
He was strongly affected by the socialist ideas of the day, and these prompted his most famous
works, the "anti-Catholic" novels: The Mysteries of Paris (Les Mystères de Paris) (published
in Journal des débats from 19 June 1842 until 15 October 1843) and The Wandering Jew (Le Juif
errant; 10 vols., 1844–1845), which were among the most popular specimens of the serial
novel.[3][7] The Wandering Jew is a Gothic novel depicting the titular character in conflict with the
villain, a murderous Jesuit named Rodin.[1] These works depicted the intrigues of the nobility and the
harsh life of the underclass to a wide public. Les Mystères de Paris spawned a class of imitations all
over the world, the city mysteries. Sue's books caused controversy both because of their strongly
violent scenes, and because of their socialist and anti-clerical subtexts.[1]
He followed up with some singular books: Les Sept pêchés capitaux (16 vols., 1847–1849), which
contained stories to illustrate each of the seven deadly sins.[3] Les Mystères du peuple (1849–1856)
was a long series of historical novels, which was suppressed by the censor in 1857, and several
others, all on a very large scale, though the number of volumes gives an exaggerated idea of their
length.[3] Les Mystères du peuple is a lengthy series of novels and novellas dealing with French
history. Les Mystères du peuple begins with a novel graphically depicting slavery in the Roman
Empire, (The Iron Collar).[1] Other Les Mystères du peuple novels dealt with Early Christianity (The
Silver Cross), King Clovis I (The Poniard's Hilt), the creation of the Duchy of Normandy (The Iron
Arrow-Head), the Crusades in Palestine (The Pilgrim's Shell), the Albigensian Crusade (The Iron
Pincers), the Jacquerie (The Iron Trevet), Joan of Arc (The Executioner's Knife) and the French
Revolution (Sword of Honor). The novels were translated into English (as the "Mysteries of the
People") and published in New York by Daniel De Leon and his son, Solon.[1][8] Some of Sue's books,
among them The Wandering Jew and The Mysteries of Paris, were dramatized by himself, usually in
collaboration with others. His period of greatest success and popularity coincided with that
of Alexandre Dumas, with whom he has been compared.[3]
According to Umberto Eco, parts of Sue's book Les Mystères du peuple served as a source
for Maurice Joly in his Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu, a book
attacking Napoleon III and his political ambitions. The two are depicted in Will Eisner's cartoon
book The Plot, co-authored with Eco.[9]

Political career[edit]
After the French Revolution of 1848, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly from the Paris-
Seine constituency in April 1850. He was exiled from Paris in consequence of his protest against
the French coup d'état of 1851. This exile stimulated his literary production.[3] Sue died in Annecy-le-
Vieux, Savoy on August 3, 1857 and was buried at the Cimetière de Loverchy (Annecy) in the Non-
Catholic's Carré des "Dissidents".

Legacy[edit]
 Rue Eugène Sue in the 18th arrondissement of Paris near the Marcadet-Poissonniers station of
the Paris Métro, not far from Montmartre and the Sacré-Cœur.
 Calle Eugenio Sue in Polanco, Mexico City.
 Sue is a character in Umberto Eco's 2010 novel The Prague Cemetery.
 United States socialist Eugene Victor Debs was named after Eugene Sue and Victor Hugo.
 In Thomas Pynchon's 2006 novel Against the Day, an intelligent dog named Pugnax enjoys
reading Sue.