The Bibliothèque National de France is currently running an exhibition on Gaston Leroux and his works.

Quoting from the website, BNF Exhibition on Gaston Leroux:

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the publication of « Le Parfum de la dame en noir », the Bibliothèque nationale de France pays tribute to the rich and diverse work by Gaston Leroux, both one of the last masters in the art of the serialized novel and one of the pioneers of detective novels and fantastic literature. But if Gaston Leroux went down in history thanks to the popular characters of Rouletabille and Chéri-Bibi, who does remember him as a journalist and special correspondent ?

To remedy the situation, a large part of the exhibition is devoted to the events and the historical context of the Belle Epoque, a period rich of intense technical and political upheavals retraced in Gaston Leroux’s articles. The evocation of Gaston Leroux’s occupation as a journalist for the newspaper « Le Matin » allows to highlight the beginning of his career as an author, and a work which is both marked by the serialized writing style and an acute attention to current affairs.

A rich and diverse collection including about 100 pieces (letters, manuscripts, illustrated publications, photographs, posters, objects, film excerpts...) will allow to discover the universe of Gaston Leroux and the many adaptations that were inspired by his work.

Exhibition catalogue: « Gaston Leroux, de Rouletabille à Chéri-Bibi », under the direction of Guillaume Fau, including some texts by Pierre Assouline, Francis Lacassin and François Rivière, Paris, BnF, 2008.


The exhibition ends on 4th January 2009.