Eugène Sue’s "The Mysteries of Paris" is a monumental and groundbreaking serial novel that exposes the brutal underworld and stark social injustices of 19th-century Paris. The story is a sprawling tapestry of interconnected lives, ranging from the highest aristocracy to the most destitute criminals in the city’s slums. At its center is Rodolphe, a mysterious, wealthy, and impossibly virtuous German nobleman who disguises himself to walk among the poor and dispense his own form of justice. He becomes the protector of a beautiful and innocent streetwalker named Fleur-de-Marie, whose tragic past is intricately linked to the highest echelons of society. The narrative weaves together their story with a vast cast of characters, including the vicious criminal known as the Schoolmaster, the cunning and greedy notary Jacques Ferrand, and the heroic working-class hero Chourineur. Sue meticulously documents the sordid details of life in the Parisian gutters—the violence, the exploitation, the slang, and the desperate struggle for survival—while simultaneously unraveling a complex plot of secret identities, long-lost children, and political corruption. "The Mysteries of Paris" was a social phenomenon that shocked and captivated its readers, blending melodrama, social critique, and suspenseful storytelling to create a powerful indictment of the conditions that created such misery, and it directly inspired countless imitations and the genre of "city mysteries."

Table of Contents:

• The Mysteries of Paris. Part 1

• The Mysteries of Paris. Part 2

• The Mysteries of Paris. Part 3

• The Mysteries of Paris. Part 4

• The Mysteries of Paris. Part 5

• The Mysteries of Paris. Part 6