Books with title Robert Barr - The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont

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 was a prolific Canadian author who managed to create quite a few exciting mystery stories that have been seen as both inspiring and controversial by the critics of the time. Some of his Sherlock Holmes parodies alone – two of which are included in this collection – have stirred quite some trouble in England, even though Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself was amused, and even took a fondness towards Barr.The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont introduce us to an interesting character who, unlike most famous detectives of the time, is not British, but French; in fact, he is the very idea of the kind of Frenchman that irritated most of British society in the early 20th century. Often compared to Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, Valmont, however, is much more realistic and believable. Even though the story collection seems to point that the tales speak about his “triumphs,” you'll find Valmont to be as human as he can be, the focus being far more pronounced toward the engaging plot lines and exciting twists that Robert Barr so elegantly builds throughout his works.If you're a fan of early mystery stories, some of the crimes in this collection are alone worth every minute spent reading the book. Subtle clues and strategic, yet highly believable turnarounds, combined with a sharp and eloquent writing style and the cultural clashes between French and British societies will make these stories remarkably enjoyable, as well as entertaining.Although this is one of the earliest detective stories ever put together, it certainly doesn't disappoint. Even modern fans of the genre will be glad to experience the well-timed and elegantly constructed plot elements and developments of The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont. The satisfaction of the tension created by some of the mysteries included will also prove to be quite addictive.

Robert Barr (16 Septem:ber 1849 – 21 October 1912) was a Scottish-Canadian short story writer and novelist, born in Glasgow, Scotland. Early Years in Canada 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.[2] Barr was promoted by the Detroit Free Press, eventually becoming its news editor. London years: 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." Robert Barr died from heart disease on 21 October 1912, at his home in Woldingham, a small village to the southeast of London.

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.

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.

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.

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