Émile Gaboriau (9 November 183228 September 1873) was a French writer, novelist, journalist, and a pioneer of

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as spec ...

Early life

Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime. He was the son of Charles Gabriel Gaboriau, a public official and his mother was Marguerite Stéphanie Gaboriau. Gaboriau became a secretary to Paul Féval, and after publishing some novels and miscellaneous writings, found his real gift in ''L'Affaire Lerouge'' (1866).

Literary life

''L'Affaire Lerouge'', which was Gaboriau's first detective novel, introduced an amateur detective. It also introduced a young police officer named

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. The character is one of the pioneers of the genre and a major influence on S ...

, who was the hero in three of Gaboriau's later detective novels. The character of Lecoq was based on a real-life thief turned police officer,

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 ...

(1775–1857), whose own 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 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. By its methods, themes and ...

'' book series. The book was published in ''

Le Siècle ''Le Siècle'' ("''The Age''") is a daily newspaper that was published from 1836 to 1932 in France. History In 1836, ''Le Siècle'' was founded as a paper that supported constitutional monarchism. However, when the July Monarchy came to an end ...

'' 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 Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleed ...

. Gaboriau's books were generally well received. About ''The Mystery of the Orcival'', '' Harper's'' wrote in 1872: "Of its class of romance—French sensational—this is a remarkable and unique specimen". A

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

of ''Le Dossier n° 113'' (File No. 113) was released in 1932. In '' A Study in Scarlet'', Arthur Conan Doyle has Watson ask Sherlock Holmes what he thinks of Gaboriau's work. Holmes disparages Lecoq as "a miserable bungler".

Fiction

Series

''Mariages d'aventure''

#''Monsieur J.-D. de Saint-Roch, ambassadeur matrimonial'' – The Matrimonial Ambassador: Monsieur J. D. de Saint-Roch (1862) #''Promesses de mariage'' – Promises of Marriage (1862)

Lecoq & Others

# ''L'Affaire Lerouge'' (1866) – The Widow Lerouge / The Lerouge Affair # ''Le Crime d'Orcival'' (1867) – The Mystery of Orcival # ''Le Dossier n° 113'' (1867) – Dossier No. 113 / File No. 113 / The Blackmailers # ''Les Esclaves de Paris'' (1868, 2 vol.) – Slaves of Paris (''Le Chantage'' – Caught in the Net) and (''Le Secret de la Maison de Champdoce'' – The Champdoce Mystery) # ''

'' (1869, 2 vol. – ''L'Enquête'' – The Inquiry / Monsieur Lecoq / The Detective's Dilemma) and ( ''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) and (''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 # ''Une Disparition'' (1876) – A Disappearance / Missing! / 1000 Francs Reward

Non-Series

* ''Le treizième Hussards'' (1861) – The 13th Hussars * ''Les Gens de Bureau'' (1862) – The Men of the Bureau * ''Les comédiennes adorées'' (1863) * ''Le Petit Vieux des Batignolles'' (1876) – The Little Old Man of Batignolles * ''Le Capitaine Coutanceau'' (1878) – Captain Coutanceau * ''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

Filmography

*''

'', directed by Maurice Tourneur (1914, based on the novel ''

'') *''L'Affaire d'Orcival'', directed by

Gérard Bourgeois Gérard Bourgeois (born August 18, 1874, in Geneva, Switzerland (from French parents), and died December 15, 1944, in Paris, France) was a leading French film director during the silent era. After ten years in the theater, Gérard Bourgeois bec ...

(1914, based on the novel '' Le Crime d'Orcival'') *' (1915, based on the novel ''

''), with

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 ...

as Lecoq *', directed by Will S. Davis (1915, based on the novel ''L'Affaire Lerouge'') *''The Evil Women Do'', directed by

Rupert Julian Rupert Julian (born Thomas Percival Hayes; 25 January 1879 – 27 December 1943) was a New Zealand cinema actor, director, writer and producer. During his career, Julian directed 60 films and acted in over 90 films. He is best remembered for di ...

(1916, based on the novel ''La Clique dorée'') *''Le Capitaine noir'', directed by Gérard Bourgeois (1917) *'' Thou Shalt Not Steal'', directed by

William Nigh William Nigh (October 12, 1881 – November 27, 1955) was an American film director, writer, and actor. His film work sometimes lists him as either "Will Nigh" or "William Nye". Biography Nigh was born Emil Kreuske''Silent Film Necrology ...

(1917, based on the novel ''Le Dossier n° 113'') *'' File 113'', directed by Chester M. Franklin (1933, based on the novel ''Le Dossier n° 113''), with Lew Cody as Lecoq *' (TV series, 35 episodes, 1964–65), with as Lecoq *''Nina Gipsy'', directed by (TV film, 1971, based on the novel ''Le Dossier n° 113''), with as Lecoq *', directed by (TV miniseries, 1975, based on the novel ''La Corde au cou'') *', directed by (TV film, 1976, based on the novel ''L'Affaire Lerouge'') *''La Corde au cou'', directed by Marcel Moussy (TV miniseries, 1978, based on the novel ''La Corde au cou'')

References

External links

* * *
Online editions of his works

sur Roman-Feuilleton & HARD-BOILED site (Comprehensive Bibliographies by Vladimir Matuschenko) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaboriau, Emile 1832 births 1873 deaths People from Charente-Maritime French crime fiction writers Writers from Nouvelle-Aquitaine 19th-century French novelists French male novelists 19th-century French male writers