Louise Cansot, an artists’ model whose unsolved 1949 murder in Paris is the subject of a major French literary prize-winning novel, was dismissed by investigators for decades as an unmarried mother of “ill repute,” The Guardian reported. Two authors spent years investigating the cold case to rehabilitate her reputation.
Why Did Paris Police Close the Murder Investigation After Four Months?
City detectives abandoned the search for the killer just four months after Cansot’s body was discovered on September 7, 1949, near the Seine on the Quai du Javel, currently known as the Quai André-Citroën. The original 300-page police report characterized the 28-year-old as a woman of loose morals who posed for painters and worked as a dancer at the Folies Bergère.
Newspaper reports at the time fueled the narrative by speculating that the victim was a sex worker, alcoholic, or drug addict. “In the police report it’s more or less written that she deserved it,” author Luc Corlouër told The Guardian.
Detectives initially identified four possible murderers before filing the case as unsolved. Investigators made little effort to track down the perpetrator because they concluded the victim had brought the attack on herself.
How Did Two Writers Join Forces to Investigate the Cold Case?
Corlouër began researching Cansot’s life in 1981 after an elderly woman at a war memorial in the victim’s hometown of Tréguier mentioned the murder. After decades of collecting maps, images, photos, paintings, documents, letters, and newspaper cuttings, Corlouër struggled to find a publisher for his manuscript.
He eventually crossed paths with Philippe Jaenada, a novelist who had independently discovered the case while combing through old newspapers at the French National Library. In a rare display of literary solidarity, Corlouër handed over his entire research archive to Jaenada.
“We agreed we would write our respective books, which are very different,” Corlouër told The Guardian. “And after all, the star was him, not me. By giving him the subject I knew he would make a really superb book.”
What Did the New Books Reveal About the Victim’s Life and Death?
Corlouër published La Tragédie du plus beau modèle de Paris on August 19, relying strictly on documentary evidence. On the exact same date, Jaenada published his Prix Goncourt-winning novel, L’Inconnue du Quai de Javel.
Jaenada’s 530-page book presents a sympathetic portrait of Cansot, who arrived in Paris from Brittany in 1937 at age 16 and quickly became known as “the girl of 100 portraits” among Montparnasse artists. To prepare for his investigation, Jaenada read 74 out of the 75 novels by Georges Simenon featuring Inspector Maigret in 1940s Paris.
His research points directly to a specific man he believes strangled Cansot after inviting her to inspect an apartment she hoped to rent. The authors also tracked down Cansot’s daughter, Nathalie, who was five years old when her mother died and was subsequently raised by an aunt.
Nathalie, now 80, initially repeated the family narrative that her mother was disreputable and worked as a prostitute. Upon learning the truth from the two writers, she expressed amazement rather than tears, according to Corlouër.
Common Questions About the Investigation
Who was Louise Cansot?
She was a young woman from Tréguier, France, who moved to Paris in 1937 and became a sought-after artists’ model, film extra, and dancer before her murder in 1949.
What is the title of the award-winning novel about her?
Philippe Jaenada won France’s prestigious Prix Goncourt for his novel L’Inconnue du Quai de Javel, published on August 19.
Where was the victim’s body found?
Her body was discovered on September 7, 1949, on the Quai du Javel in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, situated south-west of the Eiffel Tower.
What happened to her daughter after the murder?
Nathalie, who was five years old at the time of her mother’s death, was raised by her aunt, Valentine, and was told for decades that her mother was a disreputable woman.