Monsieur Lecoq
Encyclopedia
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 Sherlock Holmes
(who, in A Study in Scarlet
, 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
".
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
and Nero Wolfe
, 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.
, a real life criminal who later became a policeman and eventually the first director of the Sûreté
. Another influence was a character named Monsieur Lecoq, who appeared in Les Habits Noirs
, written by Paul Féval, père
who had been Gaboriau's employer in 1862.
Honoré de Balzac
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.
Émile Gaboriau
Émile Gaboriau , was a French writer, novelist, and journalist, and a pioneer of modern detective fiction.- Life :Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime...
, a 19th-century French
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....
and journalist. Monsieur Lecoq is a fictional detective employed by the French Sûreté
Sûreté
Sûreté is a term used in French speaking countries or regions in the organizational title of a civil police force, especially the detective branch thereof.-France:...
. The character is one of the pioneers of the genre and a major influence on 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...
(who, in A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing his new character of Sherlock Holmes, who later became one of the most famous literary detective characters. He wrote the story in 1886, and it was published the next year...
, calls him "a miserable bungler"), laying the groundwork for the methodical, scientifically minded detective. In French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, "Monsieur" is "Mister" and his surname literally means "The Rooster
Rooster
A rooster, also known as a cockerel, cock or chanticleer, is a male chicken with the female being called a hen. Immature male chickens of less than a year's age are called cockerels...
".
In the person of armchair detective
Armchair detective
Armchair detective is a term used for a fictional investigator who does not personally visit a crime scene or interview witnesses; instead, he or she either reads the story of the crime in a newspaper, or has it recounted to him by another person. As the armchair detective never sees any of the...
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
Mycroft Holmes is a fictional character in the stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. He is the elder brother of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes.- Profile :...
and Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created in 1934 by the American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe's confidential assistant Archie Goodwin narrates the cases of the detective genius. Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974, with most of them set in New York City. Wolfe's...
, 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 VidocqEugène François Vidocq
Eugène François Vidocq was a French criminal and criminalist whose life story inspired several writers, including Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac...
, a real life criminal who later became a policeman and eventually the first director of the Sûreté
Sûreté
Sûreté is a term used in French speaking countries or regions in the organizational title of a civil police force, especially the detective branch thereof.-France:...
. Another influence was a character named Monsieur Lecoq, who appeared in 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....
, written by Paul Féval, père
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...
who had been Gaboriau's employer in 1862.
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
introduced the notorious Vautrin, also inspired by Vidocq, in Le Père Goriot
Le Père Goriot
Le Père Goriot is an 1835 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac , included in the Scènes de la vie Parisienne section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine...
in 1834. Also, Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
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 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) - “Une Disparition” in Le Petite Vieux des Batingoles (1876) -“A Disappearance” in The Little Old Man of Batignoles
- Le Vieillesse de Monsieur Lecoq (1878) by Fortune du BoisgobeyFortune du BoisgobeyFortuné Hippolyte Auguste Castille , under the nom de plume Fortuné du Boisgobey, was a French novelist.- Life :...
-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
Films
- Monsieur Lecoq (Fr., B&W, 1914)
- Dir/Wri: Maurice Tourneur.
- Cast: Maurice de Féraudy, Charles Kraus, Fernande Petit, Henry Roussel.
- Monsieur Lecoq (US, B&W, 1915)
- Dir/Wri: Maurice Tourneur.
- Cast: William Morris (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, Stephen Grattan, Edith Hallor.
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 (Nina), Henri Lambert (Lecoq), François Perrot, Jacques Faber.