The Champdoce Mystery

Monsieur Lecoq #4, Vol. 2/2

by Émile Gaboriau

Emile Gaboriau (1833-1873) is an important figure in the history of detective fiction. A French journalist and novelist, he created the "roman policier" with a series of books involving private detective Monsieur Lecoq, who works logically. Lecoq was based on a real-life thief turned policeman named Francois Vidocq (1775-1857), whose memoirs mixed fiction and fact. Gaboriau's huge following was eclipsed by Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Interestingly, Holmes may have been at least partly based on another of Gaboriau's characters, consulting detective Father Tabaret, whose methods Monsieur Lecoq adopts in the first Lecoq book.

Genres: Classics, France

366 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1868

About the author

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

The book, which was Gaboriau's first detective novel, introduced an amateur detective. It also introduced a young police officer named Monsieur Lecoq, 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 (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 book series.

The book was published in "Le Siècle" 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.

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 of Le Dossier n° 113 (File No. 113) was released in 1932.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book (and the first one) a lot more than expected! All the characters were very fun and much more flawed than I was expecting for a book of this period. Despite the name, it is very much Not a mystery novel, more a series of people running around enacting various plots. Which was still fun to read, just not what you'd think going in. I did think the introduction of Lecoq at the very end took away a bit from all the fun machinations of the protagonists, especially since he was literally only there for 20 pages. I don't know if he features more prominently in his other books, or if that's just the structure of this series, but I'd still be willing to read those other books to find out.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting double (and triple) dealings and after all is looking bad the hero, La Coq, enters and all is well (except a few minor human problems). The 2nd in the series and a good follow-up. Clean. Excellently narrated by Stefan Rudnicki. Recommended.

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very old world book

The plot and the characters are old and almost farcical in their complications. It wouldn't have made a half bad three penny play or comic opera!

[Sheffielder · Rating 2 out of 5]

In some ways a story within a story, it's initially quite interesting - but where's the mystery?! At every stage we're told not just who's doing what, but also why. Abandoned reading it at 71%.

[B. Zedan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting way back, decades before 'Caught in the Net', all those slippery threads of intrigue you tried to hold in your brain are woven into a rather engaging OMG SHE DIDN'T first half. The motivations that were inexplicable in the first book are revealed in brilliant light—but there is still much book and OMG HE DIDN'T to go as the new info informs our players.

Maybe too nice an ending, as it is a rather pretty bow, but for a two-book, generation-spanning monster it is acceptable for the hand of god M. Lecoq to saunter in at the end and escort everyone to their proper place.

[S. L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novel of high life and misdeeds, by the author who inspired Sherlock Holmes. The conclusion of Caught in the Net. The story centers around two young men, both penniless, both ignorant of their past, and a mysterious organization of blackmailers, hiding behind the guise of a respectable employment agency.

[arg/machine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic detective/crime fiction. In the public domain, with a free electronic copy here.

[Thisdaydreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book, but do yourself a favor and read Caught in the Net first. Then read this and then move on to The Clique of Gold.

[T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

These two volumes are a fun read if you enjoy mystery, intrigue and a convoluted story, set in Paris in the 1860s.