Eugène Sue

French author of sensational novels of the seamy side of urban life. His works were the first to deal with many of the social ills that accompanied the Industrial Revolution in France.

Sue wrote a number of historical novels and worked as a journalist. Having inherited a fortune from his father, he 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).

His 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.

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 on 3 August 1857.