 He appears in the novels "Le Père Goriot" (Father Goriot, 1834/35) under the name Vautrin, and in "Illusions perdues" (Lost illusions, 1837–1843) and "Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes" (Scenes from a Courtesan's Life, 1838–1844), the sequel of "Illusions perdues", under the name of Abbé Carlos Herrera.In prison, he got the nickname "Trompe-la-Mort" ("Dodgedeath" or "Cheats-Death"), because he managed to avoid the death sentence repeatedly.By the time the "Comédie humaine" series begins, Jacques Collin is an escaped convict and criminal mastermind fleeing from the police.