City mysteries are a 19th-century genre of popular
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...
, in which characters explore the secret underworlds of cities and reveal corruption and exploitation, depicting violence and deviant sexuality. They were popular in both Europe and the United States. All were inspired by the very successful
serial novel ''
The Mysteries of Paris
''The Mysteries of Paris'' (french: Les Mystères de Paris) is a novel by the French writer Eugène Sue. It was published serially in 90 parts in ''Journal des débats'' from 19 June 1842 until 15 October 1843, making it one of the first seria ...
'' (1842) by
Eugène Sue, such as these:
* ''
Les Vrais Mystères de Paris'' (1844) by
Eugène François Vidocq
* ''
Los misterios de Madrid: miscelánea de costumbres buenas y malas con viñetas y láminas á pedir de boca'' (1844) by
Juan Martínez Villergas
* ''
The Quaker City, or The Monks of Monk Hall
''The Quaker City; or, The Monks of Monk Hall'' is a city mystery novel by Philadelphia writer George Lippard, first published in 1845.
Plot summary
''The Quaker City'' describes four main characters during the course of three days and nights. ...
'' (1845) by
George Lippard
* ''
Los Misterios del Plata'' (1846) by
Juana Manso
* ''
Venus in Boston'' (1849) by
George Thompson
* ''
City Crimes'' (1849) by
George Thompson
* ''
Life and Adventures of Jack Engle'' (1852) by
Walt Whitman
Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...
* ''
The Mysteries of Lisbon'' (1854) by
Camilo Castelo Branco
* ''
The Slums of Petersburg
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' (1866) by
Vsevolod Krestovsky
Vsevolod Vladimirovich Krestovsky (russian: Все́волод Влади́мирович Кресто́вский; February 23, 1840 – January 30, 1895) was a Russian writer who worked in the city mysteries genre.
Biography
Krestovsky came ...
* ''
Les Mystères de Marseille
The novel ''Les Mystères de Marseille'' by Émile Zola appeared as a serialized story in ''Le Messager de Provence'' in 1867, while Zola was writing ''Thérèse Raquin''. As a work of his youth, it was thus also a commissioned work on which Zola ...
'' (1867) by
Émile Zola
* ''
The Mysteries of London
''The Mysteries of London'' is a "penny blood" or city mysteries novel begun by George W. M. Reynolds in 1844. Recent scholarship has uncovered that it "was almost certainly the most widely read single work of fiction in mid-nineteenth century B ...
'' (1844) by
George W. M. Reynolds
* ''Les Mystères de Londres'' by
Paul Féval
* ''Les Mystères de Lyon'' (featuring the
Nyctalope
The Nyctalope, alias Léo Saint-Clair, is a pulp fiction hero created by French writer Jean de La Hire in 1911. He may be the first cyborg (an individual with both organic and mechanical body parts) in literature and is seen as a significant prec ...
) by
Jean de La Hire
Jean de La Hire (pseudonym of the Comte Adolphe-Ferdinand Celestin d'Espie de La Hire) (28 January 1878 – 5 September 1956) was a prolific French author of numerous popular adventure, science fiction and romance novels.
Adolphe d'Espie was b ...
* ''I misteri di Napoli'' by Francesco Mastriani,
* ''Les Nouveaux Mystères de Paris'' by
Léo Malet
Léo Malet (7 March 1909 – 3 March 1996) was a French crime novelist and surrealist.
Biography
Leo Malet was born in Montpellier. He had little formal education and began work as a cabaret singer at "La Vache Enragee" in Montmartre, Paris in 19 ...
,
* ''Die Mysterien von Berlin'' by August Brass,
* ''Die Geheimnisse von Hamburg'' by Johann Wilhelm Christern'',''
* ''De Verborgenheden van Amsterdam'' by L. van Eikenhorst
Crime fiction
Literary genres
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