Transformations du roman noir à l’Époque romantique Le règne nouveau des admirables scélérats

At the start of the nineteenth century, the poetic model of the roman noir underwent a major shift with a change in the character of the villain, who takes on admirable qualities. This article traces the portrait of the “admirable villain” while showing how this unique figure is emblematic of Romanticism and how it overturns the codes of the noir genre by allowing the promotion of new, often paradoxical values.