Émile Gaboriau

Emile Gaboriau has been described both as the father of the detective novel and the Edgar Allan Poe of France. His fictional detective, Monsieur Lecoq, is thought to have been based on the "Mémoires" (1828-29) of Eugène-François Vidocq, a reformed petty criminal who helped establish the Police de Sûreté in Paris. Lecoq is considered a precursor of Sherlock Holmes. Gaboriau wrote 21 novels altogether.