Arsène Lupine: 4 books to rediscover the genesis of the character created by Maurice Leblanc

Before the series… the books.

Between novels, short stories, and plays, Arsène Lupine appears in some sixty works by Maurice Leblanc.

They were all published between 1905 and 1941, with the exception of a posthumous text, left unfinished and finally edited in 2012, “Le last Amour d'Arsène Lupine”.

While the Netflix series "Lupine" with Omar Sy is a worldwide success, here is a small selection to get a good idea of ​​the character and his evolution over the years

The first stories, published in 1905 in the magazine "Je sais tout", were compiled in the collection

which is again a success in bookstores thanks to the series

The latter constitutes a good introduction to the character, presented as larger than life: endowed with an extraordinary intelligence, a phenomenal capacity for deduction, the hero is also learned, polyglot, accomplished sportsman, and of course endowed with a charisma that no woman can resist.

But beware, Maurice Leblanc's writing, fluid and addictive, is also a reflection of his time, and misogynistic, xenophobic or racist prejudices can surface throughout the stories… “Arsène Lupine, gentleman-burglar” includes two founding stories, "The Queen's Necklace", which is referred to in the series "Lupine" and "Sherlock Holmes is too late".

Because yes, Leblanc imagined the meeting of these two great figures of the imagination even if he was forced to change the name of his protagonist later to "Herlock Shears", in order to avoid the lawsuit that Conan wanted to bring to him. Doyle.

"The Hollow Needle"

, which dates from 1909, is one of the mythical novels of the sympathetic criminal.

Precursor of today's bestsellers like “The Da Vinci Code” and books surfing on multiple conspiracy theories, it takes place partly in Etretat, which has since become a tourist attraction!

"813"

, published in 1910, is a novel somewhat apart from the Lupine saga.

The violent deaths follow one another.

Lupine and therefore its author show a virulent anti-Germanism, a feeling very widespread in France in the years preceding the Great War.

In short, a fiction much darker than usual, but nevertheless interesting.

"L'Agence Barnett & Cie"

is a tasty collection of short stories published in 1928. Leblanc describes a playful, clever and mocking Lupine, who runs a private detective agency.

The king of thieves confronts other thieves there, who don't have the shadow of a chance in front of him.

A delight !