Popular novel in France
This genre is originally concurrent with the Industrial Revolution and a sociology of reading, which practice could only democratize with the appearance of leisure time in a context of progressive urbanization.
The common denominator is to present a story in a simple chronological order, with well-identified characters, archetypes, and where the plot takes precedence over stylistic considerations.
Morality is sometimes imbued with good feelings, "common sense", or even Manichaeism; other times, it is reversed, with great naturalistic effects, positioning readers facing notions of fair and unfair.
The works of Eugène Sue, Alexandre Dumas, and Georges Simenon, among others, rank among the greatest successes of the popular novel, in terms of their posterity.
The first popular novelist (or "storyteller") is undoubtedly Scheherazade, who, in The Thousand and One Nights, to pique Shahryar's interest, is required to resume the thread of her story daily, consisting of a series of interconnected adventures.
One of the earliest inventors of the "formula" of the French popular novel seems to be the writer François Guillaume Ducray-Duminil with works such as Les Veillées de ma grand-mère (1799) or Tableau d'une bonne famille (1804), although they remained expensive to purchase.
[4] The expression "popular novelist" is said to have first appeared in 1843 in the socialist press to praise Eugène Sue, author of The Mysteries of Paris (1842–1843).
Other authors, who were unaware of being "popular", preceded Sue, such as Paul de Kock, Auguste Ricard, or Marie Aycard.
This was also the case for Émile Richebourg who, with Les Deux Berceaux and La Petite Mionne, stages his favorite theme: the abduction or exchange of children, combined with adultery.
Ideal scapegoats endured a long and painful sentence for crimes they did not commit, awaiting their rehabilitation, a plot that owes much to The Count of Monte Cristo (A. Dumas, 1844).
While sometimes posing as moralizers, novelists also contributed to raising awareness of real social problems: the gradual rehabilitation of the daughter-mother owes much to Jules Mary or Émile Richebourg.
From the late 1830s until 1920, the original edition of a bookstore book was almost always preceded, accompanied, or followed by publication in episodes in national or regional newspapers.
Émile Richebourg accepted the publication of Les Deux Berceaux in La Petite République, which saved Gambetta from ruin, as his newspaper was dying due to lack of readers.
Detective novels or science fiction thus demonstrated great vitality, winning over a much more diverse audience than the one targeted by publishers like Rouff or Tallandier.
The war or espionage novel was mainly exemplified by the immense success of Gérard de Villiers' series, SAS, with an ideology marked by racism and misogyny.
[8] The Canadian publisher Harlequin established itself as a global leader, offering successful American texts translated into French as well as other languages.
Comics gradually moved away from the children's section where they were long confined, especially from the 1970s onwards, to capture a wider audience, with constantly renewed forms (stories, layouts, themes).
In addition to reissues of 19th-century authors (Paul d'Ivoi, Jules Verne, etc), new successful texts emerged, such as The Famous Five by Enid Blyton, or Fantômette (a feminine tribute to Fantômas) by Georges Chaulet.
The same applies to the series Chéri-Bibi (1974) based on Gaston Leroux's work and the multiple adaptations of The Mysteries of Paris by Eugène Sue.
Several films by André Hunebelle are dedicated to Fantômas, portrayed by Jean Marais, opposite Louis de Funès as Juve.
Alexandre Dumas was the first popular novelist to receive the honor of a critical edition in the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade (1962).
With the Bouquins collection, Francis Lacassin gradually reissued numerous popular novels, accompanied by very detailed notes.
