Caught in the Net [Hardcover]

Emile Gaboriau (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2003

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.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

French crime-fiction novelist Gaboriau is known as 'Father of the detective novel' and Edgar Allan Poe of France. He wrote 21 novels in 13 years. His work reflects his imaginative power and keen observation. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 308 pages
• Publisher: IndyPublish.com (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1404344225
• ISBN-13: 978-1404344228
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars PART ONE of The Champdoce Mystery, June 2, 2011

By 

Patto (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Caught in the Net (Dodo Press) (Paperback)

CAUGHT IN THE NET and THE CHAMPDOCE MYSTERY form one continuous story. It's annoying that the publisher gives no hint of this relationship. But such is the nature of print-on-demand publishers who know what they sell.

Both books were originally published in 1868 under one title: LES ESCLAVES DES PARIS (THE SLAVES OF PARIS).

In any case, these two books offer a complex tale of crime and retribution well worth reading. And the Dodo Press editions offer a clear, readable format.

CAUGHT IN THE NET introduces the reader to a blackmailing ring operating at the highest levels of society. The partners in this enterprise employ an amazing network of spies to uncover the dreadful secrets of the oldest and wealthiest families in Paris. Many a cook, maid or footmen in an aristocratic household is in their pay.

Two projects are underway in CAUGHT IN THE NET. A lovely young heiress will be tricked into marrying a penniless rake. And a weak young man will be passed off as the missing son of a duke. Funds will flow into the coffers of the syndicate as a result of these maneuvers, if they succeed.

As these threats mature, the reader is treated to a plethora of Parisian types, from frivolous women of fashion and empty-headed fops to wily street urchins and faithful family retainers. Our heroine is the noble-hearted young heiress. Our hero is the hard-working high-minded young artist she secretly loves.

The lead villain in these books is the illusive Mascarin. He is not only fascinating in and of himself, but as a later influence on Arthur Conan Doyle, who borrowed some of Mascarin's characteristics to create Professor Moriarty.

Gaboriau is a talented nineteenth-century writer who has fallen undeservedly into obscurity. Anyone interested in the evolution of the detective novel, or the novel in general, should find his books of great interest.