Mémoires de Vidocq, chef de la police de Sureté jusqu'en 1827, tome I

A firsthand memoir traces a turbulent life from early criminality, arrests, and escapes through gradual reinvention into the head of a policing organization, describing investigations, undercover work, disguises, prison experiences, personal relationships, and episodes of domestic and public drama. It intersperses practical accounts of investigative methods and anecdotes of arrests with reflections on justice, redemption, and the difficulties of publishing candid revelations; the author details disputes over editorial changes and the suppression or alteration of sensitive names and incidents while narrating episodes of family life, love, and occasional violence.