• Introduction

• Vidocq: Invented Memories

• Vidocq: Cartouche

• Vidocq: From Con Man to Security Squad Chief

• Vidocq: Shady Detective

• Vidocq: Imaginary Detective

• Vidocq: Legacy

• Lacenaire: The Origins of Criminal Celebrity

• Before Lacenaire: The Fualdès Affair

• Before Lacenaire: Robert Macaire

• Lacenaire: A Not-So-Elegant Criminal

• Lacenaire: The Elegant Criminal

• The Dark Avenger Appears: The Count of Monte Cristo

• Rocambole: A Criminal Sensation

• Ponson du Terrail: Rocambole, c’est moi!

• The Crime Factory of Paul Féval

• Argot: Slang and the Imaginary Criminal Underground

• Vainglorious Detectives: Police Memoirs in the 19th Century

• Émile Gaboriau, Father of the French Detective Novel

• Alphonse Bertillon versus the Criminal Element

• The Belle Époque of Crime

• Les Terribles: Arsène Lupin

• Les Terribles: Rouletabille and Chéri-Bibi

Illustrator Mark Taraskoff, “Héros français du roman policier.” Series “Personnages Célèbres,” La Poste, 1996. Author’s collection.

Robin Walz © 2024-2025