 Several attempted escapes have increased the sentence to 20 years by 1818, when the first novel that includes him takes place.In "Father Goriot", set in late 1818/early 1819 (or 1819/1820 when later novels refer to the events), Collin lived under the name of Vautrin in the House Vauquer after an escape from the Bagne of Toulon in 1815.He is described as a cynical man, who likes to crack jokes, speaks rather intimately with everyone, and seems to know everything and have been everywhere.