The Murder Room

An interesting point of where literature and criminology intersect:  From The Murder Room:  “But it was Vidocq’s remarkable story of redemption and his belief in the redemption of others that touched Fleischer most deeply. The chief cop of Paris was a great friend of the poor and said he would never arrest a man for stealing bread to feed his family.   Vidocq was Hugo’s model for Javert, the relentless detective in Les Miserables, as well as for Valjean, the excon who reforms and seeks redemption for  his deeds” (Capuzzo 135).  Vidocq was a criminal who became a detective, and who formed an agency even before Pinkerton.  He is considered a father of modern criminology.  This well researched book by Michael Capuzzo tells the story of The Vidocq Society, named in his honor, and of three remarkable criminologists who lead the pack of those who would solve the most unsolvable of crimes.