Maurice Leblanc
1864–1941
Biography
Maurice Leblanc was a French novelist and short-story writer who lived from 1864 to 1941. He was born in Rouen. His name is above all linked to Arsène Lupin, a gentleman thief who preys on the wealthy and outfoxes the police, and critics frequently set Lupin beside Sherlock Holmes. Leblanc also wrote science fiction, including two novels from 1919 and 1920.
The first Lupin story appeared in 1905 in the magazine Je sais tout, and by 1907 Leblanc was writing full-length Lupin novels. Sales and reviews were strong enough that most of his later working life went to Lupin, and he kept writing about the character into the 1930s. He tried to launch other detectives, such as Jim Barnett, but in the end he merged them into Lupin's world. The state honoured his literary work with the Légion d'honneur, and he died in Perpignan in 1941.
Two of his Lupin books are on this site: Arsène Lupin, gentleman-cambrioleur, the early collection of Lupin stories, and Arsène Lupin intervenes, a further set of the thief's cases. A third, The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar, is also in the catalogue. Read together, they show the appeal that kept Leblanc's detective famous: a master of disguise who steals from the rich, makes the police look slow, and enjoys doing it.
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Books
Arsène Lupin intervenes
by Maurice Leblanc
Maurice Leblanc's gentleman burglar Arsene Lupin returns in a set of cases where his wit tips the balance. Master of disguise, he steals from the rich and outwits the police. Pure, stylish French adventure. This book uses the racial and other slurs of its period as written; the…
Summary written by Claude Sonnet 5.5.Arsène Lupin, gentleman-cambrioleur
by Maurice Leblanc
The first adventures of Arsène Lupin, the charming burglar who announces his thefts in advance and slips out of every trap the police set. Here he meets his patient pursuer, Inspector Ganimard, and a famous English detective.
Summary written by Claude Opus 5.5.The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar
by Maurice Leblanc
Maurice Leblanc's 1907 stories introduce Arsene Lupin, the elegant French thief, in a set of daring thefts. A reader finds disguises, escapes and a rogue always one step ahead of the police.
Summary written by Claude Sonnet 5.5.