Léo Malet (1909–1996) was a French crime novelist and

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

. He was known for creating the Parisian private eye

Nestor Burma Nestor Burma is a fictional character created by French crime novelist Léo Malet. Overview In the Burma series, one can isolate a subset of novels each set in a different quarter (arrondissement) of Paris which Malet dubbed the "New Mysteries o ...

Biography

Leo Malet was born in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

. In the 1930s, he was closely aligned with the

Surrealists Surrealism is an art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike scenes and id ...

, and was close friends with

André Breton André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgium, Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature ...

and

Yves Tanguy Raymond Georges Yves Tanguy (January 5, 1900 - January 15, 1955), known as just Yves Tanguy (; ), was a French Surrealist painter. Biography Tanguy was the son of a retired navy captain, and was born January 5, 1900, at the Ministry of Naval Aff ...

, amongst others. During this time, he published several volumes of

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

Selected bibliography

* ''120, rue de la Gare'' (1943) * ''Le cinquième procédé'' (1948) * ''Le soleil naît derrière le Louvre'' (1954) (First of the "New Mysteries of Paris" series) * ''Des kilomètres de linceuls'' (1955) * ''Fièvre au Marais'' (1955) * ''La nuit de Saint-Germain-des-Prés'' (1955) * ''M'as-tu vu en cadavre'' (1956) * ''Brouillard au pont de Tolbiac'' (1956) * ''Casse-pipe à la Nation'' (1957) * ''Micmac moche au Boul' Mich' '' (1957) * ''Nestor Burma court la poupée'' (1971) * ''Poste restante'' (1983)

Comic book adaptations

* Brouillard au pont de Tolbiac (Casterman, 1982); drawn by:

Jacques Tardi Jacques Tardi (; born 30 August 1946) is a French comic artist. He is often credited solely as Tardi. Biography Tardi was born on 30 August 1946 in Valence, Drôme. After graduating from the École nationale des beaux-arts de Lyon and the Écol ...

* 120, rue de la Gare (Casterman, 1988); drawn by:

* Une gueule de bois en plomb (Casterman, 1990); drawn by:

* Casse-pipe à la Nation (Casterman, 1996); drawn by:

* M'as-tu vu en cadavre ? (Casterman, 2000); drawn by:

Filmography

*''120, rue de la Gare'', directed by

Jacques Daniel-Norman Jacques Daniel-Norman (real name Joseph Jacques Compère René Dary René Dary (19 July 1905 – 6 October 1974) was a French film actor.Witt & Temple p.150 Dary began his career as a child actor. Selected filmography * '' Sidonie Panache'' (1934) * ''The Lie of Nina Petrovna'' (1937) * '' S.O.S. Sahara'' (1938) ...

(as Nestor Burma) *''La Nuit d'Austerlitz'', directed by

Stellio Lorenzi Stellio Lorenzi (7 May 1921 – 25 September 1990) was a French screenwriter. His father was from Sanremo. He was a communist. Early years Stellio Lorenzi was born in Paris to an Italian father from Sanremo. He spent his childhood and adole ...

(TV film, 1954), with

Daniel Sorano Daniel Sorano (1920–1962) was a French stage and film actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the ...

(as Nestor Burma) *''

The Enigma of the Folies-Bergere ''The Enigma of the Folies-Bergere'' (French: ''Enigme aux Folies-Bergère'') is a 1959 French crime film directed by Jean Mitry and starring Bella Darvi, Frank Villard and Dora Doll. The police investigate a series of murders at the Folies-Bergè ...

'', directed by

Jean Mitry Jean-René Pierre Goetgheluck Le Rouge Tillard des Acres de Presfontaines, whose pseudonym was Jean Mitry (; 7 November 1904 – 18 January 1988), was a French Film theory, film theorist, Film criticism, critic and Filmmaking, filmmaker, a co-fo ...

(1959), with

Bella Darvi Bella Darvi (born Bajla Węgier; 23 October 1928 – 11 September 1971) was a Polish film actress and stage performer who was active in France and the United States. Biography Early life Darvi was born Bajla Węgier to Jewish parents Chajm ...

Frank Villard Frank Villard (24 March 1917 – 19 September 1980) was a French film actor.Goble p.121 He was born François Drouineau in Saint-Jean-d'Angély. Selected filmography * ''The Last of the Six'' (1941) - Un homme (uncredited) * ''Cartacalha, reine ...

Dora Doll Dora Doll (born Dorothea Hermina Feinberg; 19 May 1922 – 15 November 2015) was a French actress. Career Dora Doll, the daughter of a Russian-Jewish banker who was expelled after the 1917 Revolution, was born in Berlin in 1922. She came to Fra ...

*''La Nuit de Saint-Germain-des-Prés'', directed by

Bob Swaim Robert Frank "Bob" Swaim, Jr. (born November 2, 1943) is an American film director. Life and career Swaim was born in Evanston, Illinois, and was the son of Eleanor (Connor) and Robert Frank Swaim. He grew up in the Reseda area of Los Angeles and ...

(1977), with

Michel Galabru Michel Louis Edmond Galabru (27 October 19224 January 2016) was a French actor. Career Galabru appeared in more than 250 films and worked with directors such as Bertrand Blier, Costa-Gavras, Luc Besson (for '' Subway''), and Jean-Luc Godard. ...

(as Nestor Burma) *''Nestor Burma, détective de choc'', directed by Jean-Luc Miesch (1982), with

Michel Serrault Michel Serrault (24 January 1928 – 29 July 2007) was a French stage and film actor who appeared from 1954 until 2007 in more than 130 films. Life and career His first professional job was in a touring production in Germany of Molière's '' Les ...

(as Nestor Burma),

Jane Birkin Jane Mallory Birkin ( ; 14 December 1946 – 16 July 2023) was a British and French actress, singer, and designer. She had a prolific career as an actress, mostly in French cinema. A native of London, Birkin began her career as an actress, ...

*''Les Rats de Montsouris'', directed by Maurice Frydland (TV film, 1988), with Gérard Desarthe (as Nestor Burma) *''Nestor Burma'' (TV series, 39 episodes, 1991–2003), with

Guy Marchand Guy Marchand (22 May 1937 – 15 December 2023) was a French actor, musician, and singer. He appeared in over 100 films in over 30 years, but was best known for his role as the fictional television private detective Nestor Burma. Life and care ...

(as Nestor Burma)

References

External links

Short biography in Italian
1909 births 1996 deaths Writers from Montpellier Writers of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction French crime fiction writers French surrealist writers 20th-century French novelists French male novelists 20th-century French male writers {{France-writer-stub