The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Life Murder Mystery from the Birth of the Movies (Paperback) - Paul Fischer

His body was never found. In 1891, Thomas Edison - inventor of the lightbulb and the phonograph - announced that he had developed a motion-picture camera. Le Prince's family, convinced that Edison had stolen Louis's work, proceeded to sue the most famous inventor in the world.

'This extraordinary tale of rivalry and celluloid . . . has fascinated cineastes for years.' Kathryn Hughes, Sunday Times

'Illuminating and thrilling.' The Spectator

'Absorbing, forensic and jaw-dropping.' Total Film

In 1888, Louis Le Prince shot the world's first motion picture in Leeds, England.

In 1890, weeks before the planned public unveiling of his camera and projector, Le Prince boarded a train in France - and disappeared without a trace. His body was never found.

In 1891, Thomas Edison - inventor of the lightbulb and the phonograph - announced that he had developed a motion-picture camera.

Le Prince's family, convinced that Edison had stolen Louis's work, proceeded to sue the most famous inventor in the world. The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures excavates one of the great unsolved mysteries of the Victorian age and offers a revelatory rewriting of the birth of modern pictures.

About the Author

Paul Fischer was born in Saudi Arabia.
He is the author of A KIM JONG-IL PRODUCTION, the true story of the kidnapping of two South Korean filmmakers to Kim Jong-Il's North Korea, which was translated into fourteen languages, nominated for the Crime Writers' Association Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award, and chosen as one of the best books of 2015 by NPR and Library Journal. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, the Narwhal, the Independent, the Guardian, SyfyWire, and Bright Wall / Dark Room among others.