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The First Detective: The Life and Revolutionary Times of Vidocq: Criminal, Spy and Private Eye
The First Detective The Life and Revolutionary Times of Vidocq Criminal Spy and Private Eye
Author: James Morton
Eugene Francois Vidocq was born in France in 1775 and his life spanned the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars and the 1848 revolutions. He was the Inspector Morse, the Sherlock Holmes and the James Bond of his day. A notorious criminal, he turned police officer and employed a gang of ex-convicts as his detectives. ...  more »
ISBN-13: 9781590206386
ISBN-10: 159020638X
Publication Date: 6/30/2011
Pages: 288
Rating:
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 2

3 stars, based on 2 ratings
Publisher: Overlook
Book Type: Hardcover
Members Wishing: 4
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hardtack avatar reviewed The First Detective: The Life and Revolutionary Times of Vidocq: Criminal, Spy and Private Eye on + 2701 more book reviews
Not as interesting overall as I hoped it would be. However, I was interested to discover the Germans had 'guillotines' in the 13th century. There was even a British version which fell "out of favor in the seventeenth century."

When Joseph-Ignace Guilloton, a professor of anatomy, reintroduced it into France, early research was carried out by Antoine Louis, a harpsicord maker, of all things. For a short time the guillotine was called the 'Louison' or Louisette.'


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