[4] His Mathilde (6 vols,[5] 1841) contains the first known expression of the popular proverb "La vengeance se mange très-bien froide",[5] translated in 1846 as "Revenge is very good eaten cold" by D. G. Osborne,[6] also constituting the first known English usage of the proverb later expressed in English as "Revenge is a dish best served cold".

[7] 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.

[4][8] The Wandering Jew is a Gothic novel depicting the titular character in conflict with the villain, a murderous Jesuit named Rodin.

Les Mystères du peuple begins with a novel graphically depicting slavery in the Roman Empire (The Iron Collar).

[4] Sue died in Annecy-le-Vieux, Savoy on 3 August 1857 and was buried at the Cimetière de Loverchy (Annecy) in the Non-Catholic's Carré des "Dissidents".