“Senza andar nulla a pescare negli stranieri”: Jarro e il modello di Fortuné du Boigobey

Résumé

The article aims at rereading Giulio Piccini's (alias Jarro) literary works by
identifying the international models that underlie his production. Unduly defined as the
mysterious pioneer of Italian detective fiction, Piccini actually moulds his novels on
Gaboriau’s, Féval’s and especially Boisgobey’s production. La Vieillesse de Monsieur
Lecoq is presented as the main model for Piccini's most popular detective novel, I ladri
di cadaveri: an actual repertoire of themes and sequences through which Piccini shapes
the first, serial detective novels in Italian literature.