The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont »

Stephen Knight is Professor of English at the University of Wales, Cardiff. He has written books on Chaucer, King Arthur, and crime fiction. His latest book is Robin Hood: A Complete Study of the English Outlaw.

Series Copy Offering some of the most influential literary myth-makers of the last 150 years, the Oxford Popular Fiction series introduces or reintroduces, bestselling works of American and British fiction that have helped define new styles and genres, and that continue to resonate in popular memory today. From crime and historical fiction to romance, adventure, and social comedy, these books are ideal for anyone interested in the prototypical, controversial, groundbreaking, and sometimes notorious fiction of which classics are made. Complete with critical introductions, the Oxford Popular Fiction series is a personal library that lies a the heart of American and British culture.
The Triumphs of Eugène Valmont (1906) brings together tales of the multifarious exploits of Robert Barr's elegant and cunning sleuth, Valmont, a brilliantly ironic parody of Sherlock Holmes. Exhibiting the crucial combination of realism and imagination that characterizes the finest crime writing, the stories exude playfulness and blend mystery and quasi-Gothic thrills with humorous detours and romantic adventure. A notable figure in 1890s literary London and a friend of Conan Doyle, Barr was acutely aware of style as a form of statement and the stories are full of literary effects, commentary on the detective mystery genre, and Valmont's disparaging reflections on English values.
From the hilarious satire of sensationalism in The Siamese Twin of a Bomb-Thrower to the bizarre and operatic melodrama of The Ghost with the Club-Foot, Barr's stories delight the reader with their skill, variety, and never-abandoned sense of spirited fun.