{"id":5108,"date":"2016-06-06T10:00:30","date_gmt":"2016-06-06T14:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/pulpsuperfan\/?p=5108"},"modified":"2016-05-29T21:10:19","modified_gmt":"2016-05-30T01:10:19","slug":"m-lecoq-the-first-fictional-detective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepulp.net\/pulpsuperfan\/2016\/06\/06\/m-lecoq-the-first-fictional-detective\/","title":{"rendered":"M. Lecoq, the first fictional detective"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Monsieur<\/a>
Monsieur Lecoq<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Who is the first fictional detective? Sherlock Holmes<\/strong>? But what about Edgar Alan Poe<\/strong>‘s C. Auguste Dupin<\/strong>, who appeared in 1841? Nope, its Monsieur Lecoq<\/strong> who appeared in 1866.<\/p>\n

But maybe we need to be a little clear on things, as all of these characters were very important in the development of detective fiction. Lecoq is important as he was a policeman whose job it was to be a detective. Dupin was not a professional detective, and Holmes was a consulting detective, not a policeman.<\/p>\n

Holmes also owes a debt to Lecoq. A major characteristic of the Lecoq stories was having an extended flashback sequence that explained the reasons behind the crime. This was also used in some of the Holmes stories, in particular A Study in Scarlet<\/em>, along with The Valley of Fear<\/em> and The Sign of the Four<\/em>. Holmes even mentions Lecoq in the first Holmes story, but dismisses him as a “miserable bungler.” Both Lecoq and Holmes are also masters of disguise.<\/p>\n

Monsier Lecoq was created by \u00c9mile Gaboriau<\/strong>, who had been secretary to Paul Feval<\/strong>, creator of the Black Coats series of crime novels. He based the character on the real Eug\u00e8ne Fran\u00e7ois Vidocq<\/strong>, a real life criminal who later became a policeman and eventually the first director of the S\u00fbret\u00e9. And an inspiration for several other early detective characters.<\/p>\n

The Monsier Lecoq series by consists of the following:<\/p>\n