Monsieur Lecoq is the creation of Émile Gaboriau, a 19th-century French

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and journalist. Monsieur Lecoq is a fictional detective employed by the French

Sûreté (; , but usually translated as afety" or "security)"Security" in French is ''sécurité''. The ''sûreté'' was originally called ''Brigade de Sûreté'' ("Surety Brigade"). is, in many French-speaking countries or regions, the organizational ...

. The character is one of the pioneers of the genre and a major influence on Sherlock Holmes (who, in ''

A Study in Scarlet ''A Study in Scarlet'' is an 1887 detective novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become the most famous detective duo in literature. The book's title der ...

'', calls him "a miserable bungler"), laying the groundwork for the methodical, scientifically minded detective. In French, "Monsieur" is "Mister" and his surname literally means "The

Rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

". In the person of armchair detective Tabaret, nicknamed ''Père Tireauclair'', (lit. Father Bringer of Light, or "Old man Brings-to-light"), a title Lecoq himself will eventually inherit, Gaboriau also created an older mentor for Lecoq who, like

Mycroft Holmes Mycroft Holmes is a fictional character appearing in stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from 1893 to 1908. The elder brother (by seven years) of detective Sherlock Holmes, he is a government official and a founding member of the Diogene ...

and

Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe is a brilliant, obese and eccentric fictional armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery (fiction), mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a luxurious brownstone on West ...

, helps the hero solve particularly challenging puzzles while remaining largely inactive physically. In Tabaret's case, aid is dispensed from the comfort of his bed.

Inspiration

One inspiration for the character of Monsieur Lecoq came from a certain

Eugène François Vidocq Eugène-François Vidocq (; 24 July 1775 – 11 May 1857) was a French criminal turned criminalist, whose life story inspired several writers, including Victor Hugo, Edgar Allan Poe and Honoré de Balzac. The former criminal became the founder an ...

, a real life criminal who later became a policeman and eventually the first director of the

. Another influence was a character named Monsieur Lecoq, who appeared in '' Les Habits Noirs'', written by

Paul Féval, père Paul Henri Corentin Féval, ''père'' (29 September 1816 - 8 March 1887) was a French novelist and dramatist. He was the author of popular swashbuckler novels such as '' Le Loup blanc'' (1843) and the perennial best-seller '' Le Bossu'' (1857). ...

who had been Gaboriau's employer in 1862.

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

introduced the notorious Vautrin, also inspired by Vidocq, in '' Le Père Goriot'' in 1834. Also, Alexandre Dumas, père created the character of Monsieur Jackal, the mysterious head of the Paris Sûreté in ''Les Mohicans de Paris'' (1854–59). Lecoq first appears in ''L'Affaire Lerouge'', published in 1866, in which he is described as "formerly an habitual criminal, now at one with the law, skilful at his job". Lecoq plays only a minor role in this story, much of which is taken up by Mister Tabaret, an amateur sleuth nicknamed "Tirauclair" (French for "clarifier"), whom Lecoq recommends to help solve a murder.

Books

Monsieur Lecoq appears in five novels and one short story written by Gaboriau and several pastiches.

French works and their English translations

# ''L'Affaire Lerouge'' (1866) – The Lerouge Case # ''Le Crime d'Orcival'' (1867) – The Mystery of Orcival, Crime at Orcival # ''Le Dossier No. 113'' (1867) – File No. 113, Dossier No. 113, The Blackmailers # ''Les Esclaves des Paris'' (1868) – The Slaves of Paris # '' Monsieur Lecoq'' (1869) # “Une Disparition” in ''Le Petite Vieux des Batingoles'' (1876) – “A Disappearance” in The Little Old Man of Batignoles

Novels by others

# ''Le Vieillesse de Monsieur Lecoq'' (1878) by Fortune du Boisgobey –The Old Age of Monsieur Lecoq # ''La Fille de M. Lecoq'' (1886) by William Busnach & Henri Chabrillat – The Daughter of Monsieur Lecoq # ''File No. 114: A Sequel to File No. 113'' (1886) by Ernest A. Young (written in English) # ''Le Dernier Dossier de M. Lecoq'' (1952) by J. Kéry (novella) – Monsieur Lecoq's Last File

Other popular culture depictions

Films

* '' Monsieur Lecoq'' (Fr., B&W, 1914) **Dir/Wri: Maurice Tourneur. **Cast:

Maurice de Féraudy Maurice de Féraudy (born in Joinville-le-Pont on December 3, 1859 - died in Paris May 12, 1932) was a French songwriter, stage and film director, and actor at the Comédie-Française. He was the father of actor Jacques de Féraudy Jacques de F� ...

, Charles Kraus, Fernande Petit, Henry Roussel. * ''Monsieur Lecoq'' (US, B&W, 1915) **Dir/Wri: Maurice Tourneur. **Cast:

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

(Lecoq), Alphonse Ethier, Florence La Badie, Reginald Barlow. * ''The Family Stain'' 'L'Affaire Lerouge''(US, B&W, 1915) **Dir/Wri: Wil S. Davis. **Cast: Dixie Compton, Frank Evans,

Carl Gerard Carl Gerard (born Carl Gerhard Petersen; 28 September 1885 – 6 January 1966), sometimes credited as Carl Gerrard, was a Danish-American actor known for playing supporting roles. Biography Gerard spent much of his career in Los Angeles and ...

, Stephen Grattan,

Edith Hallor Edith Hallor (March 26, 1896 – May 21, 1971) was an American stage and film actress.Wlaschin p.54 She starred in a number of films during the silent era. She later appeared in a handful of minor, uncredited roles during the sound era. Hallo ...

. * '' File 113'' 'Le Dossier No. 113''(US, B&W, 1932) **Director:

Chester Franklin Chester Mortimer Franklin (September 1, 1889 – March 12, 1954) was an American film director and actor active mainly in the silent era. Born in San Francisco, he was the brother of Sidney A. Franklin. In the late 1910s, he co-directed w ...

**Writer:

Jack Natteford Jack Natteford (November 27, 1894 – January 7, 1970) was an American screenwriter. He wrote for more than 140 films between 1921 and 1967. He was born in Wahoo, Nebraska and died in Los Angeles County, California. He was married to fellow ...

**Cast:

Lew Cody Lew Cody (born Louis Joseph Côté; February 22, 1884 – May 31, 1934) was an American stage and film actor whose career spanned the silent film and early sound film age. He gained notoriety in the late 1910s for playing "male vamps" in films ...

, Mary Nolan,

June Clyde June Clyde (born Ina Parton, December 2, 1909 – October 1, 1987) was an American actress, singer and dancer known for roles in such pre-Code films as ''A Strange Adventure'' (1932) and ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1933). Early years June Clyd ...

Television

* ''L'Épingle du Jeu'' 'Needle in a Haystack''(6 January 1962) **Episode No. 23 of ''Les Cinq Dernières Minutes'' 'The Last Five Minutes''**Dir: Claude Loursais; Wri: André Maheux & Henri Grangé. **Regular Cast: Raymond Souplex (Insp. Bourrel), Jean Daurand (Ins. Dupuy). * ''Nina Gypsy'' 'Le Dossier 113''(24 July 1971) **Dir: Claude-Jean Bonnardoit. **Cast:

Catherine Rouvel Catherine Rouvel (born Catherine Vitale; 31 August 1939 in Marseille) is an acclaimed French actress. Her career spans from 1959 in television to 2004. She starred in Jean Renoir's ''Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe'', Marcel Carné's ''Les Assassins ...

(Nina), Henri Lambert (Lecoq), François Perrot, Jacques Faber. * ''Les grands détectives'' 'Monsieur Lecoq''(12 May 1975) **Dir: Jean Herman. **Cast: Gilles Ségal (Lecoq)

External links

The Wold Newton Universe - The Monsieur Lecoq Chronology
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lecoq, Monsieur Fictional French people in literature Fictional French police detectives Fictional detectives Fictional police detectives