Mankind luvs misterys—a hole in the
ground excites more wonder than a star
in the hevens—JOSH BILLINGS

Emile Gaboriau, the son of a notary, was born at Saujon, France, in 1835 and died in Paris in 1873. He was a carrier's clerk and then served in the cavalry before beginning to write for the minor newspapers. Later he developed into one of the best-known French writers of detective stories, featuring especially the detective "Lecoq." His first success was "L'Affaire Lerouge," which appeared as a serial in Le Pays in 1866. It was translated into English and published under the titles "The Widow Lerouge" and "The Lerouge Affair." Under a new disguise it appeared as "A Desperate Deed" in Dick's English Novels, London, and in the Waverley Library, and credited to Erskine Boyd, an English writer of the 1870's. Dr. John B. Williams, a popular American author, also appropriated the story⁽¹⁾ but gave it a New York setting and called it "Who Was Guilty? or, The Harlem Mystery."

Gaboriau followed his first success with "Le Dossier 113" (Englished as "File 113") in 1867, and "Le Crime d'Orcival" (The Orcival Mystery) in 1868. He also wrote "Monsieur Lecoq" (1869), "Les Escalves de Paris" (1869), "La Vie Infernale" (1870), "L'Argent des Autres" (1874), and "La Degringolade" (1876).

Under the name "Erskine Boyd" was published:

Waverley Library (quarto). No. 103

Notes

1	It appeared as a serial in Saturday Night, beginning in volume VI, December 19, 1868.