This early work by ةmile Gaboriau was originally published in 1866 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. The Widow Lerouge is one of Gaboriaus novels of crime and mystery. ةmile Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime, France. During his twenties, he became a secretary to Paul Féval - a an author now regarded as one of the fathers of modern crime fiction, whose Jean Diable (1862) is seen as the worlds first modern detective novel.