Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Cambrioleur - Maurice Leblanc

Not in any chronological order, but acting all the same as a fine introduction to Maurice Leblanc’s master criminal, the short stories in this earliest Arsène Lupin collection commence with his arrest, followed just as quickly by his miraculous evasion from justice. The remainder of the other stories lack the ingenuousness and incredible twists of the longer works, but there are some hints here of what would follow; Lupin’s run-ins with Inspector Ganimard and his first encounter with his most capable adversary, the great English Detective Herlock Sholmès (Conan Doyle none too impressed by this character); his daring burglaries and his solving of great mysteries. No safe is secure, no locked room inaccessible and no house is without a secret passage in Lupin's world, his romantic adventuring and his boastful relationship with the press, L’Echo de France, making him a figure of legend, setting the tone for what would become one of the most thrilling creations in French pulp crime fiction.

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