Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Dumas, who invented so much, claims to have invented the roman-feuilleton. This he did as early in his career as 1836. The occasion was the founding of the journal la Presse, his contribution to it being the historical romance La Comtesse de Salisbury. The other papers quickly adopted this plan of publishing novels in instalments, and by 1843, when Sue’s Mysteries of Paris was appearing in the Journal des Debats, the popularity of the system had become immense.<br><br>Then commenced a great struggle among the rival editors, a struggle which resulted in all the leading novelists being pressed into the service of the feuilleton. Dumas wrote The Musketeers, Monte-Cristo, and several other romances simultaneously.<br><br>On December 3rd, 1844, la Presse, which was owned by Emile de Girardin, published the first chapter of Balzac’s novel, The Peasants. To it was prefixed a dedication, which contained this sentence: During eight years I have a hundred times quitted, a hundred times resumed this book, the most important of those I have resolved to write.<br><br>Three days later the following announcement was inserted: La Presse commenced on Tuesday, December 3rd, the publication of The Peasants, scenes of country life by M. de Balzac. In the course of the month, and immediately after the first part of The Peasants, la Presse will publish la Reigne Margot, by M. Alexandre Dumas.<br><br>The Peasants, in fact, far from being read with interest, had brought to the editor’s letter-box expressions of disapproval, nay, even threats to drop subscriptions. And Girardin, afraid to face the dreaded December 31st, on which day, it must be observed, subscriptions for the ensuing year fell due, had had to promise a romance by the author of Monte-Cristo, and not only this, but to publish before the close of the year the first chapter, breaking his contract with Balzac by so doing.<br><br>The first instal
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