Editing Hendrik Conscience (section)

===Contemporary reception===
In 1855, translations of his books began to appear in English, French, German, Czech and Italian which achieved considerable popularity outside Belgium.{{sfn|Hermans|2014|p=164}} By 1942, it was estimated that one German translation of Conscience's work ''The Poor Gentleman'' alone had sold over 400,000 copies since its translation.{{sfn|Hermans|2014|p=165}} The French writer, [[Alexandre Dumas]], plagiarized Conscience's book, ''The Conscript'', to produce a work of his own, profiting from the chaotic intellectual property laws of the time.{{sfn|Hermans|2014|p=167}} Numerous pirated translations also appeared.{{sfn|Hermans|2014|p=167}}