Leo Malet
- Category : Writers-Detective-Mystery
- Type : ME
- Profile : 5/2 - Heretical / Hermit
- Definition : Triple Split
- Incarnation Cross : LAX Dominion 1
Biography
French writer, one of the most influential detective writers in France and the creator of the character, Nestor Burma, featured in 29 books and several short stories spanning almost 50 years.
Malet was the son of a company clerk and seamstress who died of tuberculosis when he was only four; he was brought up by his grandfather.
Although heavily influenced by Chandler and Hammett, Burma's character ushered in a whole new era in French detective fiction: portrayed as living a precarious existence in a time and a place that few have dared to touch, namely France during World War II. The popularity and influence of his character, Burma, have gone far beyond the original novels. There have been films, a television series, and in the '90s, cartoonist Jacques Tardi had begun adapting the novels into some very well done graphic novels.
Malet married on 16 April 1940. He died on 3 March 1996, Châtillon les Bagneux, France.
After his death, Tardi adapted the character Burma into some original Burma stories.
