LECOQ, THE DETCTIVE In Two Volumes

Hardback. 1st UK Edn. In Two Volumes. The author was the first French novelist to write detective novels. Monsieur Lecoq is a fictional detective employed by the French Sûreté. The character is one of the pioneers of the genre and a major influence on Sherlock Holmes (who, in A Study in Scarlet, calls him "a miserable bungler"), laying the groundwork for the methodical, scientifically minded detective. Vol. I 230pp., Vol. II 205pp. 12mo. h/backs. Half-calf green leather/marbled boards, with marbled eps., sp. title dec. in gilt, both of which have sl. wear to head/tail. Corners rubbed, overall general shelf-wear o/w Vg. (images show fr. covers of Vol. I, Vol. II and tp. of Vol. I)