  chekalov-ka-vestnik-2026-2.pdf |
- 15
- The shadow of Balzac in French mass literature of the “Belle Époque”
- Chekalov K.A. The shadow of Balzac in French mass literature of the “Belle Époque”. Vestnik of Kostroma State University, 2026, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 104–112. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.34216/1998-0817-2026-32-2-104-112
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.34216/1998-0817-2026-32-2-104-112
- УДК: 821(44).09”19”
- EDN: MVLHOW
- Publish date: 2026-03-24
- Annotation: The establishment of Honoré de Balzac’s reputation as a classic of French and world literature occurred during the “Belle Époque”. At the same time, his role in the emergence of the serial novel and certain aspects of his work, which at the time were categorised as “Romanesque”, sustained the perception of the author of “The Human Comedy” as one of the founders of mass reading in the 19th century, particularly of the detective genre. This duality impacted both the publication strategies of publishers and the reception of the famous writer within the popular novel of the period. Gaston Leroux, the most prominent representative of mass literature of the “Belle Époque”, held Balzac’s works in extremely high esteem; however, direct allusions to him in the work of the author of “The Phantom of the Opera” are few. Our article focuses primarily on the saga novel “Les derniers scandales de Paris” (1898–1900) by Jean-Louis Dubut de Laforest as an example of a narrative that combines a plot-driven, and at times shocking, story aimed at a mass readership with the lessons of “The Human Comedy” (on the level of its overall architecture and in terms of individual characters and situations).
- Keywords: saga novel, serial novel, popular literature, “Human Comedy”, “Belle Époque”, detective fiction, pathology.
- Literature list: Chekalov K.A. Rannij francuzskij detektiv: puti samoidentifikacii [Early French detective fiction: self-identification paths]. Vestnik Kostromskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Vestnik of Kostroma State University], 2023, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 79–86. (In Russ.) Oblomievskij D.D. Bal'zak. Ehtapy tvorcheskogo puti [Balzac. Stages of the creative path]. Moscow, GIKHL Publ., 1961, 590 p. (In Russ.) Barel-Moisan C. Le langage des sciences: savoir et narration dans La Recherche de l’absolu de Balzac. Le Partage des savoirs. XVIIIe–XIXe siècles. Lyon, Presses universitaires de Lyon, 2019. URL: https://books.openedition.org/pul/6570 Chamberlin W. «Une Ténébreuse affaire», roman policier. Littératures, 1958, no. 6, pp. 21–49. Dufief P.-J. Dubut de Laforest. Le Gaga. Cahiers Édmond et Jules de Goncourt, 2008, vol. XV, pp. 212. Flat P. Balzac. Essais sur Balzac. Paris, Plon, 1894, VII, 323 p. Guise R. Balzac. Nancy, Presses universitaires de Nancy, 1994, 230 p. Guise R. Introduction. Balzac H. de. Une ténébreuse affaire. Paris, Gallimard, 2005, pp. 7–19. Hogle J.Е. The Undergrounds of the Phantom of the Operа Sublimation and the Gothic in Leroux's Novel and Its Progeny. New York, Palgrave Publ., 2016, 262 p. Lefèvre F. Une heure avec Gaston Leroux. Les Nouvelles littéraires, artistiques et scientifiques, 2.05.1925, no. 133. URL: https://laporteouverte.me/2016/07/10/une-heure-avec-gaston-leroux-journaliste-et-romancier. Nathan M. Les Derniers scandales de Paris par Dubust de Laforest: des maisons closes au phalanstère. Splendeurs et mysères du roman populaire. Lyon, Presses Universitaires de Lyon, 1990, pp. 61–74. Salaün F. Jean-Louis Dubut de Laforest. Un romancier populaire. Thèse de doctorat. Paris, Université Sorbonne-Nouvelle, 2014, 827 p. URL: https://theses.hal.science/tel-01228408