Photo: Sophie Bassouls/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images (1990)
Sample of authors
Raymond, Derek
English author, who during a Bohemian and wandering life occupied himself with a number of different jobs and activities, a by-no-means small part of them criminal. This is also reflected in his books: he is known as a pioneer in the crime-literature sub-genre called ‘British noir’, and which is usually set in environments and among people at the bottom of society. The books have been criticised f...
Literary figures
Lecoq
Gender: Male
Monsieur Lecoq, whose first name is never mentioned, had some minor crimes on his conscience when he changed sides and instead got a job with La Sûreté in Paris. He is from a fine, but financially ruined, family. He is a small person but with a well-proportioned body and glowing eyes. In five classic novels by Émile Gaboriau, published 1866-68, he solves crimes in a surprisingly modern manner.