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Jean (by Clarice d'Etigues),[1] Genevieve (unknown mother),[2] the heir of Borostyria (by Queen Olga),[3] Josephin and Marie-Therese (by Angelique la Cloche)[4]
Nationality
French
Arsène Lupin (French pronunciation:[aʁsɛnlypɛ̃]) is a fictionalgentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writerMaurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series ofshort stories serialized in the magazineJe sais tout. The first story, "The Arrest of Arsène Lupin", was published on 15 July 1905.[5] Lupin is often described as the French counterpart toSherlock Holmes, often encountering "Herlock Sholmès" in his own adventures.[6][7]
The character has also appeared in a number of books by other writers as well as numerous film, stage play, comic book and television adaptations. The main character ofNetflix seriesLupin is inspired by the thief.
Arsène Lupin was a literary descendant ofPierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail's fictional characterRocambole, whose adventures were published from 1857 to 1870. Like Rocambole, Lupin is often a force for good while operating on the wrong side of the law. Lupin shares similarities withE. W. Hornung's gentleman thiefA. J. Raffles, whose stories were published from 1898 to 1909. Both Raffles and Lupin have inspired later characters such asLouis Joseph Vance'sThe Lone Wolf (created in 1914) andLeslie Charteris'sThe Saint (created in 1928).
Lupin was featured in 17 novels and 39novellas by Leblanc, with the novellas or short stories collected into book form for a total of 24 books. The number becomes 25 if the 1923 novelThe Secret Tomb is counted: Lupin does not appear in it, but the main character Dorothée solves one of Arsène Lupin's four fabulous secrets.
Several Arsène Lupin novels contain some fantasy elements: aradioactive "god-stone" that cures people and causesmutations is the object of an epic battle inL’Île aux trente cercueils; the secret of theFountain of Youth, a mineral water source hidden beneath a lake in the Auvergne, is the goal sought by the protagonists inLa Demoiselle aux yeux verts; finally, inLa Comtesse de Cagliostro, Lupin's arch-enemy and lover is none other thanJoséphine Balsamo, the alleged granddaughter ofCagliostro himself.[8]
Leblanc introducedSherlock Holmes to Lupin in the short story "Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late" inJe sais tout No. 17, 15 June 1906.[9] In it, an aged Holmes meets a young Lupin for the first time. After legal objections fromArthur Conan Doyle, the namewas changed to "Herlock Sholmès" either because of literary copyright on the character,[7][10] or, as Maurice Leblanc's son claims, at Doyle's request.[11]
Sholmès returned in two more stories collected in Volume 2, "Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès", and then in a guest-starring role in the battle for the secret of the Hollow Needle inL'Aiguille creuse.Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès was published in the United States in 1910 under the title "The Blonde Lady" which used the name "Holmlock Shears" for Sherlock Holmes, and "Wilson" forWatson. It is also stated in this book that Arsène Lupin is avegetarian for "hygiene" reasons though he is not averse to eating meat to avoid being eccentric or stand-out when in company while on the job.[12][13][14][15][16]
Sherlock Holmes, this time with his real name and accompanied by familiar characters such asWatson andLestrade (allcopyright protection having expired), also confronted Arsène Lupin in the 2008 PC 3D adventure gameSherlock Holmes Versus Arsène Lupin. In this game Holmes (and occasionally others) are attempting to stop Lupin from stealing five valuable British items. Lupin wants to steal the items in order to humiliate Britain, but he also admires Holmes and thus challenges him to try to stop him.[17]
In a novellaThe Prisoner of the Tower, or A Short But Beautiful Journey of Three Wise Men byBoris Akunin published in 2008 in Russia as the conclusion of "Jade Rosary Beads" book, Sherlock Holmes andErast Fandorin oppose Arsène Lupin on 31 December 1899.[citation needed]
In the pastiche "Larsen Hupin dans les pas de Charles Kolms" (2021), the detective investigates at the same time as the gentleman thief.[citation needed]
In the pasticheThe Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – The Gentleman Burglar (2024), Holmes and Lupin team up to solve intricate riddles and journey across France and beyond to uncover the long-lost treasure of the House of Bourbon.[20]
"Cingöz Recai: Arsen Lüpen İstanbul'da" byPeyami Safa, a book in a series with a Turkish recreation of Arsène Lupin (Cingöz Recai, or Recai the Shrewd) as the main character. In this book in the series, Arsène Lupin comes to Turkey and falls in love with a woman while there.
Sure Way to Catch Every Criminal. Ha! Ha! byCarolyn Wells inThe Century (July, 1912)
The Adventure of the Clothes-Line byCarolyn Wells inThe Century (May, 1915)
The Silver Hair Crime (= Clue?) by Nick Carter in New Magnet Library No. 1282 (1930)
Ōgon-kamen (The Golden Mask) byEdogawa Rampo (1930). Here Rampo's recurring private sleuthKogoro Akechi would match wits with Lupin, where the thief plays a central role as the Golden Mask.
La Clé est sous le paillasson byMarcel Aymé (1934)
The Prisoner of the Tower, or A Short But Beautiful Journey of Three Wise Men (Узница башни, или Краткий, но прекрасный путь трёх мудрых) byBoris Akunin in a selection of storiesThe Jade Beads (Нефритовые чётки) (2006, in Russian). Arsène Lupin appears in this novella with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and Akunin's own charactersErast Fandorin and Masa, the Japanese. The story is dedicated to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Maurice Leblanc.
Undead Girl Murder Farce by Yugo Aosaki (2015-present), where he appears as a minor antagonist alongsideThe Phantom during the second arc of the light novel series.
Sherlock, Lupin et Moi, a children's book series written by Italian authorAlessandro Gatti, whereIrene Adler tells the adventures that she,Sherlock Holmes and Arsène Lupin had when they were kids. The books are written under the pseudonym Irene Adler. Twelve books have been published so far:Le Mystère de la Dame en Noir,Dernier Acte à l'Opéra,L'Énigme de la Rose Écarlate,La Cathédrale de la Peur,LeChâteau de Glace,Les Ombres de la Seine,L'Énigme du Cobra Royal,Le Secret de L'Oeil d'Horus,Partie de Chase Mortelle,Le Seigneur du Crime,Le Port des Ténèbres,Le Bateau des Adieux.[22]
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – The Gentleman Burglar by Sam Siciliano (Titan Books, 2024), Holmes and Lupin team up to solve intricate riddles and journey across France and beyond to uncover the long-lost treasure of the House of Bourbon.[20]
Les aventures d'Arsène Lupin, The 51-episoderadio series directed by French-Algerian TV producer and filmmakerAbdel Isker, presented by Maurice Renault and Raymond Marcillac between 12 May 1960 and 15 July 1961, with the voices ofMichel Roux,Louis Ducreux, Robert Marcy, andYves Brainville[24]
L'Île aux trente cercueils, six 60-minute episodes (1979) The character of Lupin, who only appears at the end of the novel, was removed entirely.
Arsène Lupin joue et perd, six 52-minute episodes (1980) loosely based on813 withJean-Claude Brialy (Lupin)
Le Retour d'Arsène Lupin, twelve 90-minute episodes (1989–1990) andLes Nouveaux Exploits d'Arsène Lupin, eight 90-minute episodes (1995–1996) with François Dunoyer (Lupin)
Les Exploits d'Arsène Lupin (also known asNight Hood), 26 episodes for 24 min. (1996), produced by Cinar & France-Animation, with Luis de Cespedes (Lupin)
The 2018 42nd Season Super Sentai seriesKaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger features two teams, one of which is the Lupinrangers. Consisting of three members, they are recruited by Kogure, Arsène's butler, and executor of Arsène Lupin's will, to retrieve the Lupin Collection, Arsène's personal collection of the most dangerous artifacts he ever stole, with the understanding that if they collect them all, they will be granted a single wish, to retrieve the people they care most about from the clutches of the Gangler. Later on they are joined by part-time Phantom Thief Noel Takao, the adopted son of Arsène Lupin, who seeks to destroy the Don of the Gangler, and bring together all the pieces of the collection to bring his father back, since when the Ganglers broke in they murdered Arsène and stole most of the pieces.
The 2019 Girls X Heroine SeriesSecret × Heroine Phantomirage! features playing card suits and phantom thief which is the Phantomirage's main motifs.
2021's French TV seriesLupin starringOmar Sy as Assane Diop, who is influenced to commit crimes based on the Leblanc stories after his father is framed and imprisoned.
Arsène Lupin byFrancis de Croisset and Maurice Leblanc. Four-act play first performed on October 28, 1908, at the Athenée in Paris. In 1909 it had successful runs in New York and London, with the London production running for 199 shows.[25] In New York it played for 144 performances before touring; the New York cast includedWilliam Courtenay as Lupin,Doris Keane, and Sidney Herbert.[25]
Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès by Victor Darlay &Henry de Gorsse. Four-act play first performed on October 10, 1910, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. (American editionISBN1-932983-16-3)
Le Retour d'Arsène Lupin by Francis de Croisset and Maurice Leblanc. One-act play first performed on September 16, 1911, at the Théâtre de la Cigale in Paris.
Sherlock Holmes Versus Arsène Lupin (known in North America and some parts of England asSherlock Holmes: Nemesis) is an adventure game for Windows-compatible computers. It was developed by the game development studio Frogwares, and released in October, 2007. The game follows Holmes and Watson as Holmes is challenged by the legendary gentleman thief Arsène Lupin, who threatens to steal England's most-prized treasures.[26][27]
Persona 5 features beings known as Personas that are the manifestation of their owners' rebellious spirit and are inspired by fictional characters, historical figures and mythological beings. Theprotagonist utilizes Arsène as his initial persona and also resides in the attic of a café named Leblanc, a reference to Maurice Leblanc. Similarly to Arsène, the protagonist is also a phantom thief who fights for good on the wrong side of the law. His rival is the detectiveGoro Akechi, bearing a similar name to the sleuth who clashed against Arsène Lupin. InRoyal, new Personas are available for the main cast, and the protagonist gains access to a different version of the Arsène Persona (through DLC) named Raoul, based on one of Lupin's most common aliases.
Code Lupin byMichel Bussi (2006), a novel in which the books featuring Arsène Lupin hide a code, which the present-day protagonist Professor Bergton and his student assistant must solve in a tour of the province of Normandie.
Lupin, a 2021 French television series produced byNetflix, starsOmar Sy as Assane Diop, a professional thief inspired by Arsène Lupin who seeks revenge on a wealthy family who framed his father for a crime he did not commit.[28][29]
The Japanesemanga (and lateranime) seriesLupin III, written and illustrated by Kazuhiko Katō (under his pen name "Monkey Punch") follows the escapades of master thiefLupin III, who is the grandson of Arsène Lupin. The series was created in 1965, with initial episodes published in manga form in 1967.
The 2014 movieKamen Rider × Kamen Rider Drive & Gaim: Movie War Full Throttle features a character based on Lupin named Kamen Rider Lupin.
The 2018 television showKaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger features numerous references to Arsène Lupin, including "gentleman thief"-themed Super Sentai, an intro that mentions Arsène Lupin by name, and a plot that involves recovering artifacts once belonging to him.
Don Rosa introduced a characterArpin Lusène, in hisDonald Duck comics based on Arsène Lupin. The character's name is aSpoonerism transposing the first syllables of "Arsene Lupin".
Jean Le Flambeur, the protagonist of the science fiction novelThe Quantum Thief, is based on Lupin. In the series, he sometimes goes by the pseudonym "Paul Sernine", an anagram for Arsene Lupin.
The Shell Shard (L'Éclat d'obus, 1916, novel) (AKA:Woman of Mystery) Not originally part of the Arsène Lupin series, Lupin was written into the story in the 1923 edition.
The Overcoat of Arsène Lupin (Le Pardessus d'Arsène Lupin, published in English in 1926) Novella first published in 1924 in France asLa Dent d'Hercule Petitgris. Altered into a Lupin story and published in English asThe Overcoat of Arsène Lupin in 1926 inThe Popular Magazine
The Barnett & Co. Agency (L'Agence Barnett et Cie., 1928 coll., 8 novellas) (AKA:Jim Barnett Intervenes,Arsène Lupin Intervenes) The English edition includesThe Bridge That Broke story, which was unpublished in France at the time.
The Billions of Arsène Lupin (Les Milliards d'Arsène Lupin, 1939/1941, novel) - The official last book of the series,The Billions of Arsène Lupin, was serialised in 1939 and published posthumously as a book in 1941 - yet without the ninth chapter "The Safe" ("IX. Les coffres-forts"). This edition was later withdrawn at the request of Leblanc's son. In 2002, through the efforts of some Lupinians and Korean translator Seong Gwi-Soo, the missing chapter was restored and the complete final Lupin novel published in Korea by Kachi Publishing House.[30] A complete French e-book is now also available,[31] as well as a printed edition by Editions Manucius (2015).[32]
The Last Love of Arsène Lupin (Le Dernier Amour d'Arsène Lupin, novel), written around 1936 and posthumously published in 2012 after being found by chance in 2011 "on top of a cupboard in a beige shirt with rusty hooks" by Florence Boespflug-Leblanc.
Arsène Lupin Originally a 4-part play written by Maurice Leblanc andFrancis de Croisset (1908), it was subsequently novelized byEdgar Jepson and published in 1909 by Doubleday as "Arsène Lupin: By Edgar Jepson"
Media related toArsène Lupin at Wikimedia Commons
