Abstract
This article explores the changes that occurred in French literature in the 19th century, from the creation of the feuilleton as a textual space dedicated to criticism, located in the footer of newspapers, until the invention of a new literary genre: the serial. This new way of conceiving fiction, mensurable by the daily publication of newspapers, contributed to the expansion of readership and the publishing market, thus promoting the popularization of literature. On the other hand, it provoked reactions from critics who, not admitting the link between literature and money, preferred to dismiss the serial as “industrial literature”. Here we analyze two 19th-century examples that denounced this new type of literary production: a pamphlet and a novel that attacked Alexandre Dumas and Honoré de Balzac. The article also emphasizes that different material forms, publication frequency, formats and prices are determining factors for the reception of a work.
Keywords:
serial; newspapers; publication; reception; text materiality