14 h 23 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 14 h 23 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A widow lies murdered in a lonely cottage, and the clues reach into a family’s guarded past.
In The Lerouge Case, Émile Gaboriau begins with a murder near Paris. The widow Lerouge keeps to herself, but her past holds a secret others want hidden. As the police examine the traces, elderly amateur Père Tabaret brings patient attention to footprints, small objects, and the stories people tell.
Officer Gevrol trusts experience and routine. Monsieur Daburon, the investigating magistrate, wants justice, yet his own feelings complicate his duty. When suspicion falls on Albert de Commarin, a count’s son, more than innocence is at stake. Birth, inheritance, and the right to a family name become part of the search for truth.
What you’ll discover
- Clues worth watching Follow footprints, objects, and alibis as patient questioning tests what each trace can mean.
- An amateur against routine Meet Tabaret, a former pawnbroker whose careful reading of clues challenges Gevrol’s confidence.
- Justice under personal strain Watch Daburon struggle to serve the law while his feelings pull him another way.
- A name at risk Explore how questions of birth and inheritance threaten Albert de Commarin’s rank and identity.
- The detective novel takes shape Discover an early crime novel built around investigation, false trails, and long interrogations.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love a puzzle with fair clues, fans of early detective fiction, and anyone curious about how Paris police and magistrates worked under Napoleon the Third.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A murder leaves an awkward question
- Certainty arrives before the explanation
- Small traces reveal a different visitor
- A hidden birth supplies a motive
- Private pain threatens public judgment
- A family name becomes a burden
- The strongest case invites fresh doubt
- Status gives the crime deeper roots
- Every version needs a searching question
Who’s who
- Father TabaretRetired pawnshop clerk and rich amateur detective, nicknamed Tirauclair, who reads crime scenes closely and wants to prove his method right.
- M. DaburonExamining magistrate, careful and sad, who wants certainty before accusing anyone but is haunted by an old love.
- GévrolProud chief of the security police with a memory for faces, who clings to his first theory of the crime.
- LecoqGévrol's sharp young aide, a former convict, who admires old Tabaret and enjoys annoying his chief.
- Noël GerdyAmbitious young Paris lawyer with a secret claim to a great name and a costly love for Juliette.
- Viscount Albert de CommarinHeir of a great house who loves Claire d'Arlange and is willing to give up his name for justice.
- Count de CommarinProud old nobleman who values his family name above all and carries a guilty secret from his youth.
- Claire d'ArlangePoor, fierce granddaughter of a marquise, who wants only to marry Albert and will defend him against all.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Lerouge Case in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Lerouge Case
by Émile Gaboriau · 1865
A widow lies dead in the ashes at La Jonchère, and an old amateur detective reads small traces in her cottage.
Medium level5–10 hours to read16 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
Two days after Shrove Tuesday in 1862, five women from La Jonchère go to the police in Bougival. Their neighbor, the widow Lerouge, has not been seen for two days.
The Lerouge Case at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h 20 min6 h 35 min fast, 9 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 118,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1865by Émile Gaboriau
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A quiet village finds a woman dead
On Thursday, March 6, 1862, five women tell the police commissioner in Bougival that the widow Lerouge has not been seen for two days. He resists at first, because serious crime is rare in this river village. They press him until he sends for a gendarme and a locksmith.
A boy finds an enormous key in a ditch, and it fits her door. Inside, the drawers and cabinets are forced open and smashed. The widow lies face down by the fireplace with two wounds in her back.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1865
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 9 h 25 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Gaboriau, Émile. The Lerouge Case. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lerouge-case.
Gaboriau, É. (2026). The Lerouge case. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lerouge-case (Original work published 1865)
Gaboriau, Émile. The Lerouge Case. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lerouge-case.
@book{gaboriau2026lerouge,
author = {Gaboriau, Émile},
title = {The Lerouge Case},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lerouge-case},
note = {First published 1865}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Lerouge Case
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Lerouge Case about?
It follows the murder of a widow in the village of La Jonchère in 1862 and the investigation by a police chief, an examining magistrate and an amateur detective. The case soon involves a noble family and a lawyer.
Who is Father Tabaret in The Lerouge Case?
He is a retired pawnshop clerk and rich collector of police memoirs who investigates crimes for pleasure. Police call him Tirauclair. He reads small traces closely and works with the magistrate Daburon.
Is The Lerouge Case a true story?
No, it is a novel, though Gaboriau drew on real police methods and Paris life. It was written in the 1860s and is often called one of the first modern detective novels.
The author
Émile Gaboriau
1832–1873 · French detective novelist
Émile Gaboriau (1832–1873) was a French writer born in Saujon, France. He later lived in Paris, where he died. He wrote novels and stories, including detective fiction featuring Monsieur Lecoq. The Lerouge Case appeared in 1866, followed by The Mystery of Orcival in 1867 and Monsieur Lecoq in 1868.
More by Émile Gaboriau
See all their booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
