Why read The Mysteries of Paris?

Book cover of The Mysteries of Paris

Book description

The first new translation in over a century of the the brilliant epic novel that inspired Les Miserables

From July 1842 through October 1843, Parisians rushed to the newspaper each week for the latest installment of Eugene Sue's The Mysteries of Paris, one of France's first serial novels. The suspenseful…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Mysteries of Paris as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Tyler R. Tichelaar

Author

This book began the entire City Mysteries genre. When French novelist Eugène Sue published it serially in 1842-1843, it took the world by storm and became an instant bestseller. I love the intrigue in the novel. The main character, Prince Rodolphe, is in disguise as a working man in Paris among criminals and the poor with the intent to help them.

I love how the novel shows the complex personalities of the different characters and their backstories, explaining how many became criminals. The novel is full of Gothic atmosphere and helped to change the Gothic from being set in crumbling…

From Tyler's list on The best nineteenth-century city mysteries novels from a fan.