He was strongly affected by the socialist ideas of the day, and these prompted his most famous works, the "anti-Catholic" novels: "The Mysteries of Paris" ("Les Mystères de Paris") (published in "Journal des débats" from 19 June 1842 until 15 October 1843) and "The Wandering Jew" ("Le Juif errant"; 10 vols., 1844–1845), which were among the most popular specimens of the serial novel. "The Wandering Jew" is a Gothic novel depicting the titular character in conflict with the villain, a murderous Jesuit named Rodin. These works depicted the intrigues of the nobility and the harsh life of the underclass to a wide public. "Les Mystères de Paris "spawned a class of imitations all over the world, the city mysteries. Sue's books caused controversy because of their strongly violent scenes, and also because of their socialist and anti-clerical subtexts.