The peculiarity of the moment--A political nadir--And almost a literary zenith--The performance of the time in novel--The _personnel_--The kinds: the historical novel--Appearance of new classes: the historical--Other kinds and classes--The Novel of Romanticism generally--The "ordinary"--Discussion on a point of general novel criticism. CHAPTER X DUMAS THE YOUNGER 365 Division of future subjects--A confession--His general character--_La Dame aux Camelias_--_Tristan le Roux_--_Antonine_--_La Vie a Vingt Ans_--_Aventures de Quatre Femmes_--_Trois Hommes Forts_--_Diane de Lys_--Shorter stories: _Une Loge a Camille_--_Le Docteur Servans_--_Le Roman d'une Femme_--The habit of quickening up at the end--_Contes et Nouvelles_--_Ilka_--_Revenants_--_Sophie Printemps_--_Affaire Clemenceau_--Story of it--Criticism of it and of its author's work generally--Note on Dumas _fils'_ drama, etc.--Reflections. CHAPTER XI GUSTAVE FLAUBERT 397 The contrast of Flaubert and Dumas _fils_--Some former dealings with him--His style--The books: _Madame Bovary_--_Salammbo_--_L'Education Sentimentale_--_La Tentation de Saint-Antoine_--_Trois Contes_--_Bouvard et Pecuchet_--General considerations. CHAPTER XII THE OTHER "NON-NATURALS" OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 414 Feuillet--His novels generally--Brief notes on some: _Le Roman d'un jeune homme pauvre_--_M. de Camors_--Other books--_La Petite Comtesse_--_Julia de Trecoeur_--_Honneur d'Artiste_--_La Morte_--Misters the assassins--Alphonse Daudet and his curious position--His "personality"--His books from this point of view and others--His "plagiarisms"--His merits--About: _Le Roi des Montagnes_--_Tolla_--_Germaine_--_Madelon_--_Maitre Pierre_, etc.--Summing up--Ponson du Terrail and Gaboriau--The first: his general character--The second--_L'Affaire Lerouge_--Feydeau: _Sylvie_--_Fanny_--Others: _Daniel_--Droz--_Mr., Mme. et Bebe_ and _Entre Nous_--Cherbuliez--His general characteristics--Short survey of his books--Three eccentrics--Leon Cladel: _Les Va-nu-pieds_, etc.--Barbey d'Aurevilly: his criticism of novels--His novels themselves: _Les Diaboliques_ and others--His merits--And defects--Especially as shown in _L'Ensorcelee_--Champfleury--_Les Excentriques_. CHAPTER XIII NATURALISM--THE GONCOURTS, ZOLA, AND MAUPASSANT 459