The Count's Millions

Gaboriau, Emile, 1832-1873Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 649K words
Chapters: 65

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Count's Millions by Emile GaboriauAuthor: Gaboriau, Emile, 1832-1873,Language: English, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Jul 2, 2008

Editor's review

The Count's Millions is a detective novel by the French author Émile Gaboriau, part of his body of work known for its emphasis on investigation and deduction. Gaboriau is regarded as one of the important pioneers of the modern detective novel; his narratives focus on laying out the clues of a case and depicting the social environment, and his characters' motives are often bound up with money, family, and class entanglements. This English edition is released by Project Gutenberg; the language is fluid, and the plot advances through investigation and dialogue, making it a suitable introductory read for understanding the early detective novel. While reading, note how the author paces the revelation of information and how the detective find openings between institutions and human relations. As a public-domain e-book, it is easy to access at any time and suits following the case in segments while traveling or in spare moments. It should be noted that the pacing of early detective fiction differs from modern thrillers; only by patiently following the investigation can its pleasures be appreciated.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy classic detective fiction and want to trace the origins of the genre
Readers interested in French literature and nineteenth-century social background
Intermediate learners who want to practice reading with English public-domain books
Casual readers who enjoy investigation and deduction and do not seek graphic thrills

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer fast-paced modern crime thrillers
Readers who need plenty of action and strong sensory stimulation
Beginners whose English reading is not yet proficient and who give up easily on long sentences

Reading tips

Advance chapter by chapter, reviewing the clues and character relationships that have appeared at the end of each chapter.
Keep pen and paper to note characters' identities and financial dealings, so as to follow the thread of the case.
After finishing, compare it with modern detective fiction, contrasting the pace of investigation and differences in narrative perspective.
If reading in English is difficult, learn the plot summary first and then read the original text to reduce frustration.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What is Gaboriau's standing in the history of detective fiction?

He is regarded as one of the important pioneers of the modern detective novel; his works emphasize the investigative process and social background and have had some influence on the later development of the genre. This book can serve as an entry point for understanding his narrative style.

Is this book difficult in English?

It has the style of a nineteenth-century English translation: sentences are long, but the vocabulary is not especially obscure. Readers with intermediate English reading ability who are willing to slow down can finish it.

Is The Count's Millions part of a series?

Gaboriau wrote several works centered on investigation, with independent characters and cases. This book can be read on its own without prior knowledge of other works.

Is the Project Gutenberg edition suitable for academic citation?

It provides a public-domain electronic text that is convenient for reading and searching, but it usually lacks modern scholarly annotations and edition notes. Formal academic citation should be checked against authoritative editions and page numbers.

Comments

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About the author

Gaboriau, Emile, 1832-1873 Author

Emile Gaboriau (1832–1873) was a French writer best known for his detective fiction. The collection contains 32 of his works, including the two-volume Monsieur Lecoq, Le crime d'Orcival, and L'affaire Lerouge. These works generally center on investigation and detection, with tightly linked plots that emphasize criminal reasoning and character portrayal, and they hold a certain place in the development of early detective fiction. His style is marked by suspense and logical deduction, often revealing the truth layer by layer through the eyes of a detective, and it has inspired later works in the same genre. Due to limited public information, details of his life and writing background remain unclear, and the present introduction relies mainly on the works themselves and general literary-historical knowledge.