The Chatelet Apprentice
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"A terrific book...brilliantly evokes the casual brutality of life in eighteenth century France" The Sunday Times"Parot succeeds brilliantly in the reconstruction of of pre-revolutionary Paris" The Times"Has all the twists, turns and surprises the genre demands" The Independent on Sunday"An angaging murder mystery that picks away at the delicate power balance between king, police and state" The Financial Times"Jean-Francois Parot's evocation of eighteenth century Paris is richly imagined and full of fascinating historical snippets... the first in a promising series of French period mysteries, and if the other titles are half as good as this one, they will cetainly be worth looking out for." The Mail on Sunday" a roaring success in France ... and it is easy to see why" The Economist --The Independent on Sunday
Product Description
Its France, 1761. Beyond the glittering court of Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour at Versailles, lies Paris, a capital in the grip of crime and immorality ...A police officer disappears and Nicolas Le Floch, a young recruit to the force, is instructed to find him. When unidentified human remains suddenly come to light, he seems to have a murder investigation on his hands. As the city descends into Carnival debauchery, Le Floch will need all his skill, courage and integrity to unravel a mystery which threatens to implicate the highest in the land. This is the first in a series of six historical crime novels which has sold in excess of 400,000 copies in French. The author brings eighteenth century Paris vividly to life and the story features real-life characters Madame de Pompadour and Loius XV as well as engaging hero Nicolas le Floch. It is soon to be adapted for French Television.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I recently bought 2 books simultaneously from Gallic Books but, as "The Officer's Prey" by Armand Cabasson proved a minor disappointment, it was with some trepidation that I began "The Châtelet Apprentice". I needn't have worried however!
Nicholas Le Floch is in his early twenties when he comes to Paris in 1761. Just to put you in the picture: France is then reigned by Louis XV (or by his mistress Madame de Pompadour?), successor of the famous 'sun king' Louis XIV (who was actually the great-grandfather of Louis XV), and France is doing poorly in the Seven Year's War which will, in the end, cost her all her American colonies. A letter of recommendation by his godfather, the Marquis de Ranrieul, assures Nicholas of a job with the local policeforce. Before long the police officer where Nicholas has found lodgings disappears, and Nicholas is assigned to the job. What begins as a simple disappearance soon turns into a lot murkier case when a first corpse is found...
I cannot stress enough what an excellent historical detective novel this is, with all the necessary ingredients of the genre. There's a whole gallery of colourful characters, all of them equally 'real' and credible. Not least the protagonist! Nicholas Le Floch is very well done: Parot has done an eminent job of painting the young and inexperienced but resourceful detective as he plunges into his first major case with the tenacity of a bullterrier.
Furthermore, however much I love Victorian detective novels set in London, Paris in the 1760s makes for a very welcome change, all the more so because Parot describes it in all its grandeur and poverty, ranging from the royal appartments at Versailles to the grimy slums. And, to top it all of, Parot does so in a very rich and colourful language, often with small but telling details.
A quick check on www.amazon.fr sufficed to learn that there's no less than 6 further novels featuring Nicholas Le Floch. My French being too rusty, I hope and pray that they'll all be translated soon into English!
Nicholas Le Floch is in his early twenties when he comes to Paris in 1761. Just to put you in the picture: France is then reigned by Louis XV (or by his mistress Madame de Pompadour?), successor of the famous 'sun king' Louis XIV (who was actually the great-grandfather of Louis XV), and France is doing poorly in the Seven Year's War which will, in the end, cost her all her American colonies. A letter of recommendation by his godfather, the Marquis de Ranrieul, assures Nicholas of a job with the local policeforce. Before long the police officer where Nicholas has found lodgings disappears, and Nicholas is assigned to the job. What begins as a simple disappearance soon turns into a lot murkier case when a first corpse is found...
I cannot stress enough what an excellent historical detective novel this is, with all the necessary ingredients of the genre. There's a whole gallery of colourful characters, all of them equally 'real' and credible. Not least the protagonist! Nicholas Le Floch is very well done: Parot has done an eminent job of painting the young and inexperienced but resourceful detective as he plunges into his first major case with the tenacity of a bullterrier.
Furthermore, however much I love Victorian detective novels set in London, Paris in the 1760s makes for a very welcome change, all the more so because Parot describes it in all its grandeur and poverty, ranging from the royal appartments at Versailles to the grimy slums. And, to top it all of, Parot does so in a very rich and colourful language, often with small but telling details.
A quick check on www.amazon.fr sufficed to learn that there's no less than 6 further novels featuring Nicholas Le Floch. My French being too rusty, I hope and pray that they'll all be translated soon into English!
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was the 2nd book that I read from Gallic Books.
Nicolas moves to 18th century Paris and becomes a young policeman with a mission to accomplish from his superior. The novel has more twists and turns than a maze and keeps you guessing as to who the murderer is. Whilst I was reading the book, I virtually accused every character of being the murderer, apart from Nicolas.
I couldn't wait to get home from the office so that I could continue reading this book.
Nicolas moves to 18th century Paris and becomes a young policeman with a mission to accomplish from his superior. The novel has more twists and turns than a maze and keeps you guessing as to who the murderer is. Whilst I was reading the book, I virtually accused every character of being the murderer, apart from Nicolas.
I couldn't wait to get home from the office so that I could continue reading this book.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The book carries a quotation on the cover from "Le Figaro" - "a new Maigret is born: Nicolas Le Floch". But why try and describe an original character in terms of an "old familiar"? This is Paris of the mid 18th century, and Nicolas Le Floch is the product of his times, when the ideas of the Enlightenment still struggled with the old order of absolute monarchy and social corruption. A wonderful insight into an old France, through which Le Floch moves like a breath of fresh air.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
18th Century policeman
A page turning book introducing a young legal student sent to be trained as a Chatelet in 18th century France. Read more
Published 27 days ago by NanTan
Atmospheric murder mystery
This story is set in pre-Revolution France. The main character is sympathetic and empathetic. I guessed one part of the conclusion right at the beginning, but it is not part of... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Stephanie
Paris - but not as you know it!
I came across this series by chance when I bought "Le Cadavre Anglais" at a French car boot sale. I really enjoyed it, but as it was Book 7 of the series, it soon became clear... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Livvy M
Sansom's Matthew Shardlake meets Agatha Christie's Poirot in C18...
This first novel in the Nicholas Le Floch detective series, set in C18 France, reminds me of William Sansom's Shardlake series because of its attention to the details of social... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Antenna
Agatha Christie meets 1760s France
The first of this series, immensely popular in France, is set in 1761, slightly less than 30 years before the French Revolution, which adds a bit of anticipatory spice to the... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Maxine Clarke
Beautiful descriptions, plodding plot
I was really excited to read this, as I love historical crime novels. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. Read more
Published 10 months ago by S. Pomfrett
A very French crime novel
For the readers who are not French and wouldn't know Nicolas Le Floch, this is the first adventure of the 18th Centure French Commissaire. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Sanders
Mystery set in 1761 Paris with amazing depth.
The Chatelet Apprentice: The First Nicolas Le Floch Investigation (Nicolas Le Floch 1)
The character of Nicolas de Floch is superbly developed in this complex mystery... Read more
The character of Nicolas de Floch is superbly developed in this complex mystery... Read more
Published on 17 Sep 2009 by pointone
Huge in all aspects
I haven't read the Floch books in english yet, I bought the whole 7 books in France on my last trip...........
what can one say? Read more
what can one say? Read more
Published on 26 May 2009 by Count P. De Chandieu
A fun book let down by a bad translation
It's only when you read a book like this that you realise with what skill the works of writers like Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson have been translated. Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2008 by utility dog
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
