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Author Robert Barr makes a key contribution to the early canon of detective fiction with his character Eugene Valmont, a French master detective who eventually retires from his government role and sets up a private practice in London. This volume contains a number of the top-ranked tales featuring Valmont's keen investigative skills.

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Can Paris's most interesting detective make it in London? Eugène Valmont was once considered one of Paris's top detectives. But a high-profile failure to recover the jewels of Marie Antoinette made him the laughingstock of the city, and in turn caused him to flee to the last place any self-respecting Parisian would ever want to be: London. Despite the stiffness of his English contemporaries and the red tape of their legal system, however, Valmont continues to try to solve crimes. Going toe-to-toe with the likes of his crime-fighting rival, Sherlock Holmes, Valmont will break any rule necessary to catch his man--no matter what the stakes.   This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.  

When I say I am called Valmont the name will convey no impression to the reader one way or another. My occupation is that of private detective in London but if you ask any policeman in Paris who Valmont was he will likely be able to tell you unless he is a recent recruit.

The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont (1906) brings together tales of the multifarious exploits of Robert Barr's elegant and cunning sleuth, Valmont, a brilliantly ironic parody of Sherlock Holmes.`I may inform you, captain, that I am Eugene Valmont, chief detective of the French Government, and that all the police of France at this moment are under my control. I ask you, therefore, to be careful of your answers.'Exhibiting the crucial combination of realism and imagination that characterizes the finest crime writing, the stories exude playfulness, blending mystery and quasi-Gothic thrills with humorous detours and romantic adventure. A notable figure in 1890s literary London and a friend of Conan Doyle,Barr was acutely aware of style as a form of statement and the stories are full of literary effects, commentary on the detective mystery genre and Valmont's disparaging reflections on English values. From the hilarious satire of sensationalism in The Siamese Twin of a Bomb-Thrower to the bizarreand operatic melodrama of The Ghost with the Club-Foot, Barr's stories delight the reader with their skill, variety, and never-abandoned sense of spirited fun.

Excerpt: ...one of your men in Mr. Summertrees' house, and so learned that he is not the coiner. But your man has not succeeded in getting you evidence to incriminate other people.' 'You've about hit it again, Monsieur Valmont. One of my men has been Summertrees' butler for two weeks, but, as you say, he has found no evidence.' 'Is he still butler?' 'Yes.' 'Now tell me how far you have got. You know that Summertrees deposits a bag of coin every Friday in the Piccadilly bank, and I suppose the bank has allowed you to examine one or two of the bags.' 111 'Yes, sir, they have, but, you see, banks are very difficult to treat with. They don't like detectives bothering round, and whilst they do not stand out against the law, still they never answer any more questions than they're asked, and Mr. Summertrees has been a good customer at the United Capital for many years.' 'Haven't you found out where the money comes from?' 'Yes, we have; it is brought there night after night by a man who looks like a respectable city clerk, and he puts it into a large safe, of which he holds the key, this safe being on the ground floor, in the dining-room.' 'Haven't you followed the clerk?' 'Yes. He sleeps in the Park Lane house every night, and goes up in the morning to an old curiosity shop in Tottenham Court Road, where he stays all day, returning with his bag of money in the evening.' 'Why don't you arrest and question him?' 'Well, Monsieur Valmont, there is just the same objection to his arrest as to that of Summertrees himself. We could easily arrest both, but we have not the slightest evidence against either of them, and then, although we put the go-betweens in clink, the worst criminals of the lot would escape.' 'Nothing suspicious about the old curiosity shop?' 'No. It appears to be perfectly regular.' 'This game has been going on under your noses for how long?' 'For about six weeks.' 'Is Summertrees a married man?' 'No.' 'Are there any women servants in the house?' 'No, ...

The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont (1906) brings together tales of the multifarious exploits of Robert Barr's elegant and cunning sleuth, Valmont, a brilliantly ironic parody of Sherlock Holmes. Exhibiting the crucial combination of realism and imagination that characterizes the finest crime writing, the stories exude playfulness and blend mystery and quasi-Gothic thrills with humorous detours and romantic adventure. A notable figure in 1890s literary London and a friend of Conan Doyle, Barr was acutely aware of style as a form of statement and the stories are full of literary effects, commentary on the detective mystery genre, and Valmont's disparaging reflections on English values.Notice: This Book is published by Historical Books Limited (www.publicdomain.org.uk) as a Public Domain Book, if you have any inquiries, requests or need any help you can just send an email to publications@publicdomain.org.ukThis book is found as a public domain and free book based on various online catalogs, if you think there are any problems regard copyright issues please contact us immediately via DMCA@publicdomain.org.uk

The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont (1906) brings together tales of the multifarious exploits of Robert Barr's elegant and cunning sleuth, Valmont, a brilliantly ironic parody of Sherlock Holmes. Exhibiting the crucial combination of realism and imagination that characterizes the finest crime writing, the stories exude playfulness and blend mystery and quasi-Gothic thrills with humorous detours and romantic adventure. A notable figure in 1890s literary London and a friend of Conan Doyle, Barr was acutely aware of style as a form of statement and the stories are full of literary effects, commentary on the detective mystery genre, and Valmont's disparaging reflections on English values.

Robert Barr (1850-1912) was a British novelist, born at Glasgow, Scotland. He was educated at the Normal School of Toronto, Canada, was headmaster of the Central School, Windsor, Ontario, and in 1876 became a member of the staff of the Detroit Free Press, in which his contributions appeared under the signature "Luke Sharp." In 1881 he removed to London, to establish there the weekly English edition of the Free Press, and in 1892 founded The Idler magazine, choosing Jerome K. Jerome as his collaborator (wanting, as Jerome said, "a popular name"). He retired from the coeditorship in 1895. Among his most famous works are: The Face and the Mask (1894), From Whose Bourne (1896), In a Steamer Chair and Other Stories (1892) and Jennie Baxter, Journalist (1899).

The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont (1906) brings together tales of the multifarious exploits of Robert Barr's elegant and cunning sleuth, Valmont, a brilliantly ironic parody of Sherlock Holmes. Exhibiting the crucial combination of realism and imagination that characterizes the finest crime writing, the stories exude playfulness and blend mystery and quasi-Gothic thrills with humorous detours and romantic adventure. A notable figure in 1890s literary London and a friend of Conan Doyle, Barr was acutely aware of style as a form of statement and the stories are full of literary effects, commentary on the detective mystery genre, and Valmont's disparaging reflections on English values.Robert Barr (September 16, 1849 - October 21, 1912) was a British-Canadian novelist, born at Glasgow, Scotland. He immigrated to Upper Canada at age four and was educated in Toronto at Toronto Normal School. Barr was headmaster of the Central School, Windsor, Ontario, and in 1876 became a member of the staff of the Detroit Free Press, in which his contributions appeared under the signature "Luke Sharp." In 1881 he removed to London, to establish there the weekly English edition of the Free Press, and in 1892 founded The Idler magazine, choosing Jerome K. Jerome as his collaborator (wanting, as Jerome said, "a popular name"). He retired from the coeditorship in 1895.

This early work by Robert Barr was originally published in 1906 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. "The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont" is a collection of the stories and exploits of French detective turned rogue Eugene Valmont including parody of Sherlock Holmes. Barr set the standard for the genre with an even mix of light-hearted sardonics and cunning sleuth. Robert Barr was born on 16th September 1849 in Glasgow, Scotland, but he and his parents emigrated to Upper Canada when he was just four years old. He attended Toronto Normal School to train as a teacher and this career path led him to become headmaster of the Central School of Windsor, Ontario. During his time as a headteacher he began to contribute short stories to the Detroit Free Press, a publication for whom he left the teaching profession to become a staff member in 1876. He wrote for them under the pseudonym "Luke Sharp", a name he found amusing on a sign reading "Luke Sharpe, Undertaker" that he used to pass on his daily commute to work. He eventually rose to the position of news editor at the publication. In 1881 he left Canada for London to establish a weekly English edition of the Detroit Free Press. He remained in England to found The Idler, a monthly magazine he collaborated on with the popular humourist Jerome K. Jerome. During the 1890's he began to increase his literary production, writing mainly in the popular crime genre of the day. The success of his contemporary, Arthur Conan Doyle, and his super sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, inspired him to write the first Holmes parody "The Adventures of Sherlaw Kombs". Despite this jibe Barr and Doyle remained on very good terms. Robert Barr died from heart disease on October 21, 1912, at his home in Woldingham, a small village to the south-east of London.

The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont is a collection of the stories and exploits of French detective turned rogue Eugene Valmont including parody of Sherlock Holmes. Barr set the standard for the genre with an even mix of light-hearted sardonics and cunning sleuth. Barr also added his own flair of commentary on the then standard English values. The dashing Valmont takes on dastardly English noblemen, jewel thieves and con-men. He's sophisticated and confident in his own abilities but not without an amount of self-effacing humour.Robert Barr (1849-1912) Scottish-born Canadian teacher, journalist, editor, humourist, and prolific author, best known for The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont: (1906)Barr would accompany his long-time friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1894 when he gave a lecture tour of Canada and the United States of which Barr had helped arrange. They had an infamous quarrel at Niagara Falls over Sherlock Holmes's death at Reichenbach Falls. Barr wrote a parody of this incident in 'Sherlaw Kombs' The Great Pegram Mystery (1894).Often with an ironic twist or colourful narration, Barr was an accomplished short story writer, one collection being Revenge! (1896) He had an exceptional sense for the popular topics of the day and applied his characteristic swagger to narration ranging from romantic-adventure to detective thriller. He was well-travelled and well-liked. Ever the raconteur Barr was acquainted with many other respected writers of the time including Horatio Gilbert Parker and Joseph Conrad. In 1899 Barr wrote of Canada's preference for whiskey than books in the amusing two-part Literature in Canada which was really more of a gentle chastisement to Canadians to give more appreciation to their own home-grown writers. He received an honorary degree from the University of Michigan in 1900 for his accomplishments and skill in writing.

Barr (1849-1912) was a Scottish-Canadian short story writer and novelist, born in Barony, Lanark who then emigrated with his parents to Upper Canada at the age of four. In 1873 he trained as a teacher at Toronto Normal School and after graduating took a teaching post at the Central School of Windsor, Ontario, soon becoming headmaster. In 1876 he left teaching to join the Detroit Free Press where he became News Editor and wrote under the pseudonym Luke Sharp. In 1881 he left Canada to settle in London, England, where he started a new weekly version of the Detroit Free Press Magazine. During the 1890s he began writing novels in the popular crime genre, and in 1892 founded The Idler magazine in collaboration with Jerome K Jerome, retiring from its co-editorship in 1895. By this time he was a prolific author, producing a book a year, and was familiar with many of the best-selling authors of the day including Arnold Bennett, Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling. He was also on good terms with the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle, and wrote two "spoof" Holmes stories which first appeared in The Idler and are included as an appendix in this collection of crime stories featuring Frenchman Eugene Valmont published in 1906.

Robert Barr (16 September 1849 - 21 October 1912) was a Scottish-Canadian short story writer and novelist.

The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont (1906) is a collection of lively, enjoyable stories about a French detective resident in London. Whether dealing with a gang or flirting with the supernatural, the resourceful M. Valmont rarely loses his sang-froid and self-confidence. He may not always catch the criminal but his sense of style and Poirot-like conceit remain intact. Valmont is one of the most successful of the Edwardian era's many rivals to Sherlock Holmes, and now he will continue to delight readers in the twenty-first century.

The Triumphs of Eug#65533;ne Valmont by Robert Barr

"The Triumphs of Eug#65533;ne Valmont" from Robert Barr. Scottish-canadian short story writer and novelist (1849-1912).

When I say I am called Valmont, the name will convey no impression to the reader, one way or another. My occupation is that of private detective in London, but if you ask any policeman in Paris who Valmont was he will likely be able to tell you, unless he is a recent recruit. If you ask him where Valmont is now, he may not know, yet I have a good deal to do with the Parisian police.For a period of seven years I was chief detective to the Government of France, and if I am unable to prove myself a great crime hunter, it is because the record of my career is in the secret archives of Paris.I may admit at the outset that I have no grievances to air. The French Government considered itself justified in dismissing me, and it did so. In this action it was quite within its right, and I should be the last to dispute that right; but, on the other hand, I consider myself justified in publishing the following account of what actually occurred, especially as so many false rumours have been put abroad concerning the case. However, as I said at the beginning, I hold no grievance, because my worldly affairs are now much more prosperous than they were in Paris, my intimate knowledge of that city and the country of which it is the capital bringing to me many cases with which I have dealt more or less successfully since I established myself in London.Without further preliminary I shall at once plunge into an account of the case which riveted the attention of the whole world a little more than a decade ago.The year 1893 was a prosperous twelve months for France. The weather was good, the harvest excellent, and the wine of that vintage is celebrated to this day. Everyone was well off and reasonably happy, a marked contrast to the state of things a few years later, when dissension over the Dreyfus case rent the country in twain.Newspaper readers may remember that in 1893 the Government of France fell heir to an unexpected treasure which set the civilised world agog, especially those inhabitants of it who are interested in historical relics. This was the finding of the diamond necklace in the Château de Chaumont, where it had rested undiscovered for a century in a rubbish heap of an attic. I believe it has not been questioned that this was the veritable necklace which the court jeweller, Boehmer, hoped to sell to Marie Antoinette, although how it came to be in the Château de Chaumont no one has been able to form even a conjecture. For a hundred years it was supposed that the necklace had been broken up in London, and its half a thousand stones, great and small, sold separately. It has always seemed strange to me that the Countess de Lamotte-Valois, who was thought to have profited by the sale of these jewels, should not have abandoned France if she possessed money to leave that country, for exposure was inevitable if she remained. Indeed, the unfortunate woman was branded and imprisoned, and afterwards was dashed to death from the third storey of a London house, when, in the direst poverty, she sought escape from the consequences of the debts she had incurred.

Robert Barr (16 September 1849 - 21 October 1912 was a Scottish-Canadian short story writer and novelist, born in Glasgow, Scotland.Barr emigrated with his parents to Upper Canada at age four and was educated in Toronto at Toronto Normal School. Barr became a teacher and eventual headmaster of the Central School of Windsor, Ontario. While he had that job he began to contribute short stories-often based on personal experiences-to the Detroit Free Press. In 1876 Barr quit his teaching position to become a staff member of that publication, in which his contributions were published with the pseudonym "Luke Sharp." This nom de plume was derived from the time he attended school in Toronto. At that time he would pass on his daily commute a shop sign marked, "Luke Sharpe, Undertaker", a combination of words Barr considered amusing in their incongruity. Barr was promoted by the Detroit Free Press, eventually becoming its news editor.

The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont (1906) brings together tales of the multifarious exploits of Robert Barr's elegant and cunning sleuth, Valmont, a brilliantly ironic parody of Sherlock Holmes. Exhibiting the crucial combination of realism and imagination that characterizes the finest crime writing, the stories exude playfulness and wit, blending mystery and quasi-Gothic thrills with humorous detours and romantic adventure.Robert Barr (16 September 1849 - 21 October 1912 was a Scottish-Canadian short story writer and novelist, born in Glasgow, Scotland.Barr emigrated with his parents to Upper Canada at age four and was educated in Toronto at Toronto Normal School. Barr became a teacher and eventual headmaster of the Central School of Windsor, Ontario. While he had that job he began to contribute short stories-often based on personal experiences-to the Detroit Free Press. In 1876 Barr quit his teaching position to become a staff member of that publication, in which his contributions were published with the pseudonym "Luke Sharp." This nom de plume was derived from the time he attended school in Toronto. At that time he would pass on his daily commute a shop sign marked, "Luke Sharpe, Undertaker", a combination of words Barr considered amusing in their incongruity. Barr was promoted by the Detroit Free Press, In 1881 Barr decided to "vamoose the ranch", as he stated, and relocated to London, to establish there the weekly English edition of the Detroit Free Press.In 1892 he founded the magazine The Idler, choosing Jerome K. Jerome as his collaborator (wanting, as Jerome said, "a popular name"). He retired from its co-editorship in 1895. In London of the 1890s Barr became a more prolific author-publishing a book a year-and was familiar with many of the best-selling authors of his day, including Bret Harte and Stephen Crane. Most of his literary output was of the crime genre, then quite in vogue. When Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories were becoming well-known Barr published in the Idler the first Holmes parody, "The Adventures of Sherlaw Kombs" (1892), a spoof that was continued a decade later in another Barr story, "The Adventure of the Second Swag" (1904). Despite the jibe at the growing Holmes phenomenon Barr and Doyle remained on very good terms. Doyle describes him in his memoirs Memories and Adventures as, "a volcanic Anglo-or rather Scot-American, with a violent manner, a wealth of strong adjectives, and one of the kindest natures underneath it all."

Excerpt from The Triumphs of Eug ne Valmont For a period of seven years I was chief detective to the Government of France, and if I am unable to prove myself a great crime hunter, it is because the record of my career is in the secret archives of Paris. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

When I say I am called Valmont, the name will convey no impression to the reader, one way or another. My occupation is that of private detective in London, but if you ask any policeman in Paris who Valmont was he will likely be able to tell you, unless he is a recent recruit. If you ask him where Valmont is now, he may not know, yet I have a good deal to do with the Parisian police. For a period of seven years I was chief detective to the Government of France, and if I am unable to prove myself a great crime hunter, it is because the record of my career is in the secret archives of Paris. I may admit at the outset that I have no grievances to air. The French Government considered itself justified in dismissing me, and it did so. In this action it was quite within its right, and I should be the last to dispute that right; but, on the other hand, I consider myself justified in publishing the following account of what actually occurred, especially as so many false rumours have been put abroad concerning the case. However, as I said at the beginning, I hold no grievance, because my worldly affairs are now much more prosperous than they were in Paris, my intimate knowledge of that city and the country of which it is the capital bringing to me many cases with which I have dealt more or less successfully since I established myself in London. Without further preliminary I shall at once plunge into an account of the case which riveted the attention of the whole world a little more than a decade ago. The year 1893 was a prosperous twelve months for France. The weather was good, the harvest excellent, and the wine of that vintage is celebrated to this day. Everyone was well off and reasonably happy, a marked contrast to the state of things a few years later, when dissension over the Dreyfus case rent the country in twain.

Robert Barr was a Scottish-Canadian writer who was friends with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and produced notorious parodies of Sherlock Holmes. That said, Barr's best known works were The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont and Revenge!

The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont

A parody on the detective stories of the period. These include 8 short stories, broken up into 24 chapters to make it novel-like, for the US readers. (The original, "UK" edition, which can be found in PG, has 8 stories/chapters.) The stories include two of the earliest parodies of Sherlock Holmes, whose author was his contemporary and friend.