Léo Malet (7 March 1909 – 3 March 1996) was a French crime novelist and

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

Biography

Leo Malet was born in

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

. He had little formal education and began work as a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

singer at "La Vache Enragee" in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

, Paris in 1925. In the 1930s, he was closely aligned with the

Surrealists Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

, and was close friends with

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature and bounda ...

and

Yves Tanguy Raymond Georges Yves Tanguy (January 5, 1900 – January 15, 1955), known as just Yves Tanguy (, ), was a French surrealist painter. Biography Tanguy, the son of a retired navy captain, was born January 5, 1900, at the Ministry of Naval Affa ...

, amongst others. During this time, he published several volumes of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

. He died in Châtillon, a little town just south of Paris where he had lived for most of his life, four days before his 87th birthday.

Works

Though he dabbled in many genres, Malet is most famous for

Nestor Burma Nestor may refer to: * Nestor (mythology), King of Pylos in Greek mythology Arts and entertainment * "Nestor" (''Ulysses'' episode) an episode in James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' * Nestor Studios, first-ever motion picture studio in Hollywood, ...

, the anti-hero of ''Les Nouveaux Mystères de Paris''. Burma, a cynical private detective, is an astute speaker of ''argot'' (French slang), an ex-

Anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

, a serial monogamist and an inveterate pipe smoker. Of the 33 novels detailing his adventures, eighteen each take place in a sole ''

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...

'' of Paris, in a sub-series of his exploits that Malet dubbed the "New Mysteries of Paris" quoting

Eugène Sue Marie-Joseph "Eugène" Sue (; 26 January 18043 August 1857) was a French novelist. He was one of several authors who popularized the genre of the serial novel in France with his very popular and widely imitated ''The Mysteries of Paris'', which ...

's seminal "feuilleton". However, Malet never completed the full 20 ''arrondissements'' as he originally planned. Apart from the novels, five short stories were also published, bringing the total of Burma's adventures to 38. The

comic a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

artist

Jacques Tardi Jacques Tardi (; born 30 August 1946) is a French comic artist. He is often credited solely as Tardi. Biography Tardi was born on 30 August 1946 in Valence, Drôme. After graduating from the École nationale des beaux-arts de Lyon and the Éco ...

adapted some of Malet's books, much to the author's approval. Malet claimed that Tardi was the sole person to have visually understood his books. Tardi also provided cover illustrations for the

Fleuve Noir ''Black Tide'' (french: Fleuve noir) is a 2018 French film directed by Érick Zonca, and starring Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris and Sandrine Kiberlain in lead roles. It was adapted from Israeli writer Dror Mishani's book, ''The Missing File''.Bro ...

editions of the novels, which were published from the 1980s onward.

Selected bibliography

* ''120, rue de la Gare'' (1943) * ''Le cinquième procédé'' (1948) * ''Le soleil naît derrière le Louvre'' (1954) (First of the "New Mysteries of Paris" series) * ''Des kilomètres de linceuls'' (1955) * ''Fièvre au Marais'' (1955) * ''La nuit de Saint-Germain-des-Prés'' (1955) * ''M'as-tu vu en cadavre'' (1956) * ''Brouillard au pont de Tolbiac'' (1956) * ''Casse-pipe à la Nation'' (1957) * ''Micmac moche au Boul' Mich' '' (1957) * ''Nestor Burma court la poupée'' (1971) * ''Poste restante'' (1983)

Comic book adaptations

* Brouillard au pont de Tolbiac (Casterman, 1982); drawn by:

* 120, rue de la Gare (Casterman, 1988); drawn by:

* Une gueule de bois en plomb (Casterman, 1990); drawn by:

* Casse-pipe à la Nation (Casterman, 1996); drawn by:

* M'as-tu vu en cadavre ? (Casterman, 2000); drawn by:

Filmography

*''120, rue de la Gare'', directed by

Jacques Daniel-Norman Jacques Daniel-Norman (real name Joseph Jacques Compère René Dary René Dary (19 July 1905 – 6 October 1974) was a French film actor.Witt & Temple p.150 Dary began his career as a child actor. Selected filmography * '' The Lie of Nina Petrovna'' (1937) * '' S.O.S. Sahara'' (1938) * '' The Fugitive'' (1947) * ...

(as Nestor Burma) *''La Nuit d'Austerlitz'', directed by Stellio Lorenzi (TV film, 1954), with

Daniel Sorano Daniel Sorano (1920–1962) was a French stage and film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as ...

(as Nestor Burma) *''

The Enigma of the Folies-Bergere ''The Enigma of the Folies-Bergere'' (French: ''Enigme aux Folies-Bergère'') is a 1959 French crime film directed by Jean Mitry and starring Bella Darvi, Frank Villard and Dora Doll.Rège p.728 The police investigate a series of murders at the ...

'', directed by

Jean Mitry Jean-René Pierre Goetgheluck Le Rouge Tillard des Acres de Presfontaines, whose pseudonym was Jean Mitry (; 7 November 1904 – 18 January 1988), was a French film theorist, critic and filmmaker, a co-founder of France's first film society, and, ...

(1959), with

Bella Darvi Bella Darvi (born Bajla Węgier; 23 October 1928 – 11 September 1971) was a Polish film actress and stage performer who was active in France and the United States. Biography Early life Darvi was born Bajla Węgier to Jewish parents Chajm ...

Frank Villard Frank Villard (24 March 1917 – 19 September 1980) was a French film actor.Goble p.121 He was born François Drouineau in Saint-Jean-d'Angély. Selected filmography * ''The Last of the Six'' (1941) - Un homme (uncredited) * ''Cartacalha, reine ...

Dora Doll Dora Doll (born Dorothea Hermina Feinberg; 19 May 1922 – 15 November 2015) was a French actress. Career One of her first screen appearances was as Juliette in Henri-Georges Clouzot's ''Manon'' (1949). She appeared as Lola in Jacques Becker's ...

*''La Nuit de Saint-Germain-des-Prés'', directed by

Bob Swaim Robert Frank "Bob" Swaim, Jr. (born November 2, 1943) is an American film director. Life and career Swaim was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Eleanor (Connor) and Robert Frank Swaim. He grew up in the Reseda area of Los Angeles and gradua ...

(1977), with

Michel Galabru Michel Louis Edmond Galabru (27 October 19224 January 2016) was a French actor. Career Galabru appeared in more than 250 films and worked with directors such as Bertrand Blier, Costa-Gavras, Luc Besson (for '' Subway''), and Jean-Luc Godard. ...

(as Nestor Burma) *''Nestor Burma, détective de choc'', directed by Jean-Luc Miesch (1982), with

Michel Serrault Michel Serrault (24 January 1928 – 29 July 2007) was a French stage and film actor who appeared from 1954 until 2007 in more than 130 films. Life and career His first professional job was in a touring production in Germany of Molière's ''Les ...

(as Nestor Burma),

Jane Birkin Jane Mallory Birkin, Order of British Empire, OBE (born 14 December 1946) is an English-French singer and actress. She attained international fame and notability for her decade-long musical and romantic partnership with Serge Gainsbourg. She als ...

*''Les Rats de Montsouris'', directed by Maurice Frydland (TV film, 1988), with Gérard Desarthe (as Nestor Burma) *''Nestor Burma'' (TV series, 39 episodes, 1991–2003), with

Guy Marchand Guy Marchand (born 22 May 1937) is a French actor, musician and singer. He is best known for his role as fictional private detective Nestor Burma. Selected filmography * 1962: '' The Longest Day'' as an extra (Uncredited) * 1975: '' Cousin ...

(as Nestor Burma)

References

External links

Short biography in Italian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malet, Leo 1909 births 1996 deaths Writers from Montpellier French crime fiction writers French surrealist writers 20th-century French novelists French male novelists 20th-century French male writers