Émile Gaboriau

Émile Gaboriau was a French novelist, journalist and pioneer of detective fiction. Born in 1832 in Saujon, Charente-Maritime, Gaboriau is best known for creating the character of Monsieur Lecoq, a detective who appears in several of his novels. His most famous works include L'Affaire Lerouge (1866) and Le Crime d'Orcival (1867).

Émile Gaboriau grew up in a modest family, the son of a civil servant, Charles Gabriel Gaboriau, and his wife, Marguerite Stéphanie. He initially pursued a career in law but later found his way into journalism and literature.

Early in his career, he worked as a secretary for the novelist Paul Féval, who introduced him to the world of fiction. "It was during these years that I first saw the potential for stories that puzzled the mind," Gaboriau once said in an interview. He published a few novels before finding his niche in the detective genre with L'Affaire Lerouge (1866).

L'Affaire Lerouge is considered the first French detective novel and established Gaboriau's reputation. The novel introduces Monsieur Lecoq, a policeman inspired by the real-life criminal turned detective Eugène François Vidocq. Lecoq's character became the focus of three of Gaboriau's subsequent novels and cemented Gaboriau's status as a pioneer of detective fiction. His mixing flashbacks and forensic investigation influenced future writers, including Arthur Conan Doyle.

After the success of L'Affaire Lerouge, Gaboriau continued to produce widespread works. His 1867 novel, Le Crime d'Orcival, extended Lecoq's methods of investigation. The plot revolves around the murder of a countess and the ensuing mystery. Lecoq uses forensic evidence and deductive reasoning to solve the case. Gaboriau's intricate plot and his detective's reliance on science and logic rather than traditional means of interrogation marked a shift in crime fiction at the time.

Although his fame waned with the rise of Sherlock Holmes, Gaboriau's influence on the genre remains undeniable. As Gaboriau said in one of his last interviews, "The mystery, the thrill of putting the clues together — that is what draws readers in".

Émile Gaboriau died on 28 September 1873 at the age of 40 in Paris.