Les Habits Noirs is a book series

Book series

A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their publisher....

 written over a thirty-year period, comprising eleven novels, created by Paul Féval, père

Paul Féval, père

Paul Henri Corentin Féval, père was a French novelist and dramatist.He was the author of popular swashbuckler novels such as Le Loup Blanc and the perennial best-seller Le Bossu...

, a 19th-century French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

.

By its methods, themes and characters, Les Habits Noirs is the precursor of today’s conspiracy and organized crime fiction

Crime fiction

Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...

. Féval’s heroes, from Gregory Temple, the first “detective” in modern detective fiction

Detective fiction

Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...

, to Remy d’Arx, the investigative magistrate, are also the first modern characters of their kind.

In 1862, Féval founded the magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 Jean Diable, named after his eponymous Habits Noirs novel, and Émile Gaboriau

Émile Gaboriau

Émile Gaboriau , was a French writer, novelist, and journalist, and a pioneer of modern detective fiction.- Life :Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime...

, future creator of the police detective Monsieur Lecoq

Monsieur Lecoq

Monsieur Lecoq is the creation of Émile Gaboriau, a 19th-century French writer and journalist. Monsieur Lecoq is a fictional detective employed by the French Sûreté...

, a hero seemingly unrelated to the villainous Lecoq of the Habits Noirs, was his assistant.

Novels

• Les Mystères de Londres (Gentlemen of the Night, serialized in Le Courrier Français, 1843–44; rep. Comptoir des Imprimeurs Réunis, 1844) ISBN 1-932983-81-3
• Bel Demonio (serial. in Le Pays, 1850; rep. Permain, 1850)
• Les Compagnons du Silence [The Companions of Silence] (serialized in Le Journal Pour Tous, 1857; rep. Cadot, 1857)
• Jean Diable (John Devil, serialized in Le Siècle, 1862; rep. Dentu, 1863) ISBN 1-932983-15-5
• Les Habits Noirs (The Black Coats: The Parisian Jungle, serial. in Le Constitutionnel, 1863; rep. Hachette, 1863) ISBN 978-1-934543-03-0
• Coeur d’Acier [Heart of Steel] (serial. in Le Constitutionnel, 1865; rep. Hachette, 1865) ISBN 978-1-935558-05-7
• L’Avaleur de Sabre [The Sword Swallower] (serial. in L’Époque, 1867; rep. Dentu, 1867)
• La Rue de Jerusalem [Jerusalem Street] (The Black Coats: Salem Street, serial. in Le Constitutionnel, 1867–68; rep. Dentu, 1868) ISBN 1-932983-46-5
• L’Arme Invisible [The Invisible Weapon] (The Black Coats: The Invisible Weapon, serial. in Le National, 1869; rep. Dentu, 1869–70) ISBN 1-932983-80-5
• Les Compagnons du Trésor [The Companions of the Treasure] (The Black Coats: The Companions of the Treasure, serial. in Le National, 1870, then after the war 1871-72; rep. Dentu, 1872) ISBN 978-1-934543-26-9
• La Bande Cadet [The Cadet Gang] (The Black Coats: The Cadet Gang, serial. in L’Evènement, 1874–75; rep. Dentu, 1875) ISBN 978-1-935558-45-3

External links

• The French Wold Newton Universe - Les Habits Noirs
• Black Coat Press, American publisher of the series
• Les Habits Noirs, Les Habits Noirs, de Paul Féval, en version intégrale (huit tomes), sur le site de la Bibliothèque électronique du Québec.