Alexandre Dumas fils made L'Ami des femmes, a brilliant comedy about high society, the outlet for his intimate reflections. A lack of success forced him to try his hand at literary collaborations: Le Supplice d'une femme, with Girandin, and Heloise Paranquet, with Durantin. Paradoxically, though anonymous, these works met with success, and put an end to four years of persistent melancholy.