Discover the next Nicolas le Floch Investigation
Praise for Jean-François Parot
‘The period detail is marvellously evocative, Le Floch is brave and engaging …’ Economist
‘Parot succeeds brilliantly in his reconstruction of pre-revolutionary Paris, in splendid period detail.’ The Times
‘A solid and detailed evocation of pre-revolutionary France – the poverty and squalor, side by side with the wealth and splendour, are brought lovingly to life. And the plot has all the twists, turns and surprises the genre demands.’ Independent on Sunday
‘Jean-François Parot’s evocation of eighteenth-century Paris is richly imagined and full of fascinating historical snippets.’ Financial Times
‘Parot’s clever plotting and sharp eye for detail are, as ever, first rate …’ Mail on Sunday
‘… Le Floch is an engaging conduit for the reader through the teeming, phantasmagoric capital that is eighteenth-century Paris.’ Independent
‘The atmosphere is marvellous, the historical detail precise, and Le Floch and his colleagues are an engaging bunch …’ Guardian
‘An interesting evocation of place and period.’ The Literary Review
THE
NICOLAS LE
FLOCH AFFAIR
JEAN-FRANÇOIS PAROT
Translated from the French by Howard Curtis
Ouvrage publié avec le concours du Ministère français chargé de la Culture – Centre National du Livre.
This work is published with support from the French Ministry of Culture/Centre National du Livre.
For Maurice Roisse
CONTENTS
Title Page
Dedication
Background to The Nicolas Le Floch Affair
Dramatis Personae
The Nicolas Le Floch Affair
I NEAP TIDE
II SUSPICION
III TRAPS
IV DARK DEEDS
V VANISHING TRICKS
VI LONDON
VII CONFUSION
VIII DEAD END
IX HUNTING
X THE KING
XI ILLUMINATION
XII THE BATHS OF JULIAN
XIII THE SEAL OF SECRECY
EPILOGUE
Notes
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Also by Jean-François Parot
About the Author
Copyright
Background to The Nicolas Le Floch Affair
For those readers coming to the adventures of Nicolas Le Floch for the first time, it is useful to know that in the first book in the series, The Châtelet Apprentice, the hero, a foundling raised by Canon Le Floch in Guérande, is sent away from his native Brittany by his godfather, the Marquis de Ranreuil, who is concerned about his daughter Isabelle’s growing fondness for the young man.
On arrival in Paris he is taken in by Père Grégoire at the Monastery of the Decalced Carmelites and on the recommendation of the marquis soon finds himself in the service of Monsieur de Sartine, Lieutenant General of Police in Paris. Under his tutelage, Nicolas is quick to learn and is soon familiar with the mysterious working methods of the highest ranks of the police service. At the end of his year’s apprenticeship, he is entrusted with a confidential mission, one that will result in him rendering a signal service to Louis XV and the Marquise de Pompadour.
Aided by his deputy and mentor, Inspector Bourdeau, and putting his own life at risk on several occasions, he successfully unravels a complicated plot. Received at court by the King, he is rewarded with the post of commissioner of police at the Châtelet and, under the direct authority of Monsieur de Sartine, continues to be assigned to special investigations.
NICOLAS LE FLOCH : a police commissioner at the Châtelet
MONSIEUR DE SARTINE : Lieutenant General of Police in Paris
MONSIEUR DE SAINT-FLORENTIN: Minister of the King’s Household
PIERRE BOURDEAU : a police inspector
OLD MARIE : an usher at the Châtelet
TIREPOT : a police spy
RABOUINE : a police spy
AIMÉ DE NOBLECOURT : a former procurator
MARION: his cook
POITEVIN : his servant
CATHERINE GAUSS : a former canteen-keeper, Nicolas Le Floch’s maid
GUILLAUME SEMACGUS : a navy surgeon
AWA : his cook
CHARLES HENRI SANSON : the public executioner
MARIE-ANNE SANSON : his wife
LA PAULET : a former brothel-keeper
LA SATIN : a brothel-keeper
LA PRÉSIDENTE : a prostitute
JULIE DE LASTÉRIEUX : Nicolas Le Floch’s mistress
CASIMIR : her manservant
JULIA : her maid
MONSIEUR DE LA BORDE : First Groom of the King’s Bedchamber
COMMISSIONER CHORREY : a police commissioner at the Châtelet
COMMISSIONER CAMUSOT : a retired former police commissioner
GASPARD : a royal page
FRIEDRICH VON MÜVALA : a Swiss traveller
BALBASTRE : organist of Notre Dame
THÉVENEAU DE MORANDE : a French lampoonist living in London
THE CHEVALIER D’ÉON : a French secret agent in London
LORD ASHBURY : an agent of the British secret service
THE DUC DE RICHELIEU : a marshal of France
KING LOUIS XV
MADAME DU BARRY : the King’s mistress
THE DAUPHIN, later KING LOUIS XVI
MASTER BONTEMPS : senior member of the Company of Notaries
Royal
MASTER TIPHAINE : Julie de Lastérieux’s notary
MASTER VACHON : a tailor
MONSIEUR DE SÉQUEVILLE : the King’s secretary with