Maurice Leblanc Biography and List of Works

French author and journalist, known as the creator of Arsène Lupin, master of disguises, the French gentleman-thief turned detective. Leblanc was a very prolific writer - he published over 60 novels and short stories. Arsène Lupin appeared for first time in the crime story 'L'arrestation d'Arséne Lupin,' which was written for the periodical Je Sais Tout in 1905.

  "Pourquoi, dit-il encore, aurais-je une apparence définie? Pourquoi ne pas éviter ce danger d'une personnalité toujours identique. Mes actes me désignent suffisamment."
   Et il précise, avec une pointe d'orgueil:
   "Tant mieux si l'on ne peut jamais dire en toute certitude: Voici Arsène Lupin. L'essentiel est qu'on dise sans crainte d'erreur: Arsène Lupin a fait cela."
(from Arsène Lupin, 1907)

Leblanc was born in Rouen the son of a wealthy shipping owner. After education in France, Germany (Berlin) and Italy, he worked for the family firm. Leblanc then studied law but abandoned his studies to become a pulp crime writer and police reporter for French periodicals. His first works appeared in newspapers, such as Echo de Paris. In 1887 Leblanc published his first novel, UNE FEMME, a psychological study that enjoyed only a moderate success.

Although Leblanc had long career as a writer for periodicals, it was not until the creation of Arsène Lupin, in his forties, that he gained international fame, equalled only by that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Lupin, the ultimate gentleman criminal, kept Leblanc busy for the next twenty-five years. His hero also met the great rival, Sherlock Holmes in Arsène Lupin Versus Holmlock Shears (1908) and outwitted the English master detective. Lupin's character was born by an accidental assignment from the editor of a new journal, Je Sais Tout, which was modelled on the Strand, at that time an avant-garde magazine. 'L'arrestation d'Arséne Lupin' appeared in English as The Exploits of Arséne Lupin (1909). Other collections of short stories followed. Leblanc eventually became a member of the French Legion of Honour. He died in Perpignan on November 6, 1941.

The first Lupin novel, ARSENE LUPIN, GENTLEMAN CAMBRIOLEUR, appeared in 1907. Lupin is a master of disguise, whose criminal activities have more or less "unselfish" grounds. If he steals a painting, it is so that it may be genuinely appreciated. His opponent is inspector Ganimard of the Sûrete. Later in his career Lupin worked more in consort with the police. Leblanc himself became a consultant on the staff of the Paris Prefect of Police, and this shift reflected in his stories about Lupine. Among the best novels are 813 (1910), in which Lupine, accused of murder, heads the police investigation to clear himself by finding the true killer, and THE HOLLOW NEEDLE (1910), in which Lupin is shot by a beautiful girl and falls in love with her, promising to give up his life of crime. THE SEVEN OF HEARTS (1908) is considered below the normal level of the series. - Arsène Lupin's adventures have been basis for several movies, and television series. In Japan the gentleman burglar has inspired a series about Lupin's grandson, Lupin III.

Note: Leblanc's sister, the singer and actress Georgette Leblanc, was the companion of the Belgian author Maurice Maeterlinck. - See also: Leslie Charteris, whose Simon Templar alias The Saint, came from the same literary tradition of outlaws. - For further reading: World Authors 1900-1950, ed. by Martin Seymour-Smith and Andew C. Kimmens (1996); Maurice Leblanc, Arsène Lupin malgré lui by Jacques Derouard (1989); Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers, ed. by John M. Reilly (1985); Murder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the Detective Story by H. Haycraft (1941)

"He was a quiet, friendly man with a large moustache who liked to play chess and to write in his glass-enclosed study, designed to catch every ray of natural light."
(from World Authors, 1900-1950, vol. 2, ed. by Martin Seymour-Smith and Andrew C. Kimmes, 1996)

Films: Arsène Lupin Ende (1911); The Teeth of the Tiger (1919, with David Powell); 813 (1920, with Wedgewood Newell); Arsène Lupin (1932, dir. by Jack Conway, starring John Barrymore); Arsène Lupin détective (1937, dir. by Henri Diamant-Berger, starring Jules Berry); Arsène Lupin Returns (1938, dir. by George Fitzmaurice, starring Melvyn Douglas), Enter Arsène Lupin (1944, dir. by Ford Beebe, starring Charles Korvin); Les aventures d'Arsène Lupin (1956, dir. by Jacques Becker, starring Robert Lamourreux); Signé: Arsène Lupin (1959, dir. by Yves Robert, starring Robert Lamourreux); Arsène Lupin contre Arséne Lupin (1962, dir. by Edouard Molinaro, starring Jean-Claude Brialy)

UNE FEMME, (1887)
LE CHAPELET ROUGE, (1934)
The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin: Gentleman Burglar, (1971)
The Exploits of Arsene Lupin, (1976)