Editions

The First Detective

The First Detective

  • The Life and Revolutionary Times of Vidocq

Eugene Vidocq was the Morse, the Guv'nor, the James Bond of his day. A notorious criminal and prison escaper, he turned police officer and employed a gang of ex-convicts as his detectives. Now, James Morton takes us on a historical romp through the 18th century in search of this elusive figure.

Today Vidocq's influence can still be seen as members of The Vidocq Society, an unusual, exclusive crime-solving organization honor him by applying their collective forensic skills and experience to 'cold case' homicides and unsolved deaths.

Reviews

  • You really must read ... The First Detective: the extraordinary life and times of a career-criminal

    Sunday Times

  • Morton has done Vidocq a service by removing him from his unfair tabloid image and giving him his due as an important social innovator

    Sunday Times

  • Entertaining

    Sunday Telegraph

More from this Author

View all View all
View all View all

About the Author

James Morton

Previously a solicitor for twenty-five years, James Morton then worked as editor of Law Journal and Criminal Lawyer. He is now a full-time writer and author of the bestselling Gangland series.

James Morton

Our Use of Cookies

We use cookies on this site to enable certain parts of the site to function and to collect information about your use of the site so that we can improve our visitors’ experience.

For more on our cookies and changing your settings click here

Strictly Necessary

Strictly Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions. See More.

Analytics

Analytics cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. These cookies may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. See More.

Preferences & Features

Preference and Feature cookies allow our website to remember choices you make, such as your language preferences and any customisations you make to pages on our website during your visit. See More.

Targeting / Advertising

Targeting cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you and your interests. They perform functions like preventing the same content from reappearing, ensuring ads are displayed and, in some cases, selecting content based on your interests. See More.