Émile Gaboriau
Encyclopedia
Émile Gaboriau was a French
writer
, novelist, and journalist, and a pioneer of modern detective fiction
.
, Charente-Maritime
. He became a secretary to Paul Féval
, and after publishing some novels and miscellaneous writings, found his real gift in L'Affaire Lerouge (1866).
The book, which was Gaboriau's first detective novel, introduced an amateur detective. It also introduced a young police officer named Monsieur Lecoq
, who was the hero in three of Gaboriau's later detective novels. Monsieur Lecoq
was based on a real-life thief turned police officer, Eugène François Vidocq
(1775–1857), whose memoirs, Les Vrais Mémoires de Vidocq, mixed fiction and fact. It may also have been influenced by the villainous Monsieur Lecoq, one of the main protagonists of Féval's Les Habits Noirs
book series
.
The book was published in "Le Siècle" and at once made his reputation. Gaboriau gained a huge following, but when Arthur Conan Doyle
created Sherlock Holmes
, Monsieur Lecoq
's international fame declined. The story was produced on the stage in 1872. A long series of novels dealing with the annals of the police court followed, and proved very popular. Gaboriau died in Paris
of pulmonary
apoplexy
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, novelist, and journalist, and a pioneer of modern detective fiction
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
.
Life
Gaboriau was born in the small town of SaujonSaujon
Saujon is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
, Charente-Maritime
Charente-Maritime
Charente-Maritime is a department on the west coast of France named after the Charente River.- History :Previously a part of Saintonge, Charente-Inférieure was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
. He became a secretary to Paul Féval
Paul Féval, père
Paul Henri Corentin Féval, père was a French novelist and dramatist.He was the author of popular swashbuckler novels such as Le Loup Blanc and the perennial best-seller Le Bossu...
, and after publishing some novels and miscellaneous writings, found his real gift in L'Affaire Lerouge (1866).
The book, which was Gaboriau's first detective novel, introduced an amateur detective. It also introduced a young police officer named Monsieur Lecoq
Monsieur Lecoq
Monsieur Lecoq is the creation of Émile Gaboriau, a 19th-century French writer and journalist. Monsieur Lecoq is a fictional detective employed by the French Sûreté...
, who was the hero in three of Gaboriau's later detective novels. Monsieur Lecoq
Monsieur Lecoq
Monsieur Lecoq is the creation of Émile Gaboriau, a 19th-century French writer and journalist. Monsieur Lecoq is a fictional detective employed by the French Sûreté...
was based on a real-life thief turned police officer, Eugène François Vidocq
Eugène François Vidocq
Eugène François Vidocq was a French criminal and criminalist whose life story inspired several writers, including Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac...
(1775–1857), whose memoirs, Les Vrais Mémoires de Vidocq, mixed fiction and fact. It may also have been influenced by the villainous Monsieur Lecoq, one of the main protagonists of Féval's Les Habits Noirs
Les Habits Noirs
thumb|250px|Cover for a French edition of Les Habits Noirs.Les Habits Noirs is a book series written over a thirty-year period, comprising eleven novels, created by Paul Féval, père, a 19th-century French writer....
book series
Book series
A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their publisher....
.
The book was published in "Le Siècle" and at once made his reputation. Gaboriau gained a huge following, but when Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
created Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
, Monsieur Lecoq
Monsieur Lecoq
Monsieur Lecoq is the creation of Émile Gaboriau, a 19th-century French writer and journalist. Monsieur Lecoq is a fictional detective employed by the French Sûreté...
's international fame declined. The story was produced on the stage in 1872. A long series of novels dealing with the annals of the police court followed, and proved very popular. Gaboriau died in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
of pulmonary
Human lung
The human lungs are the organs of respiration in humans. Humans have two lungs, with the left being divided into two lobes and the right into three lobes. Together, the lungs contain approximately of airways and 300 to 500 million alveoli, having a total surface area of about in...
apoplexy
Apoplexy
Apoplexy is a medical term, which can be used to describe 'bleeding' in a stroke . Without further specification, it is rather outdated in use. Today it is used only for specific conditions, such as pituitary apoplexy and ovarian apoplexy. In common speech, it is used non-medically to mean a state...
.
Work
- Le treizième Hussards (1861) - The 13th Hussars
- Mariages d'aventure (1862)
- Monsieur J.-D. de Saint-Roch, ambassadeur matrimonial - The Matrimonial Ambassador: Monsieur J. D. de Saint-Roch
- Promesses de mariage - Promises of Marriage
- Les Gens de Bureau (1862) - The Men of the Bureau
- L'Affaire Lerouge (1866) - The Widow Lerouge / The Lerouge Affair
- Le Crime d'Orcival (1867) - The Mystery of Orcival
- Le Dossier n° 113 (1867) - File No. 113 / The Blackmailers
- Les Esclaves de Paris (1868, 2 vol.) - Slaves of Paris
- Le Chantage - Caught in the Net
- Le Secret de la Maison de Champdoce - The Champdoce Mystery
- Monsieur LecoqMonsieur Lecoq (novel)Monsieur Lecoq is a novel by the nineteenth-century French detective fiction writer Émile Gaboriau, whom André Gide referred to as “the father of all current detective fiction.”...
(1869, 2 vol.)- L'Enquête - The Inquiry / Monsieur Lecoq / The Detective's Dilemma
- L'Honneur du nom - The Honor of the Name / The Detective's Triumph
- La Vie infernale (1870, 2 vol.) - The Count's Millions
- Pascal et Marguerite - The Count's Millions
- Lia d'Argeles - Baron Trigault's Vengeance
- La Clique dorée (1871) - The Clique of Gold / The Gilded Clique
- La Dégringolade (1872) - Catastrophe / The Downward Path
- La Corde au cou (1873) - Rope Around His Neck / In Peril of His Life / In Deadly Peril
- L'Argent des autres (1874) - Other People's Money / A Great Robbery
- Le Petit Vieux des Batignolles (1876) - The Little Old Man of Batignolles
- Le Capitaine Coutanceau (1878) - Captain Coutanceau
- Une Disparition (1876) - A Disappearance / Missing! / 1000 Francs Reward
- Maudite maison (1876) - The Unfortunate House
- Casta vixit (1876) - Love, the Conqueror
- Amours d'une empoisonneuse (1881) - Intrigues of a Poisoner / An Adventuress of France / The Marquise De Brinvilliers