Arsène Lupin

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Arsène Lupin

Arsene-lupin.jpg
Series information
Title: Arsène Lupin
Medium: literature
Genre: mystery, heist

Arsène Lupin is a series of novels, novellas and short stories by French author Maurice Leblanc. Published from 1905 until Leblanc's death in 1941, the series was collected in 24 books, starting with Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar (Arsène Lupin, gentleman cambrioleur) in 1907, collecting the first 9 Lupin stories, and ending with the novel The Billions of Arsène Lupin (Les Milliards d'Arsène Lupin) in 1941, published posthumously with a missing chapter that was finally restored in 2002. In 2011, an additional incomplete novel was found named The Last Love of Arsène Lupin (Le Dernier Amour d'Arsène Lupin).

One of the most popular and well-known French literary characters, Arsène Lupin is the originator of the "gentleman thief" archetype. A charming and mysterious figure, he alternates between using his prodigious intelligence to solve mysteries and to commit daring burglaries (and sometimes both at once).

Characters

See also: List of Arsène Lupin characters

  • Arsène Lupin (Lead Mastermind): A notorious criminal who performs seemingly impossible robberies that capture the public's imagination. A masterful impostor, his disguises are able to deceive even those closest to him. Charming and charismatic, his popularity with the opposite sex at times save his life, and other times proves to be his biggest weakness.
  • Justin Ganimard (Specialist): A police inspector who serves as Lupin's most frequent adversary. Despite his competence and determination, more often than not he still finds himself being outwitted by Lupin.
  • Sherlock Holmes (Rival Mastermind): Leblanc's take on the world's most famous detective, depending on the story also alternatively called "Herlock Sholmes" or "Holmlock Shears" for copyright reasons. Aged since his original stories, the British detective appears in earlier Lupin stories as the only person who can serve as a worthy opponent to the gentleman thief.