About
Maurice Leblanc (1864-1941) was a French writer, best known for creating the character Arsène Lupin, the gentleman burglar. Born in Rouen, he abandoned his law studies to pursue journalism and literature. His first collection of stories, 'Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar', was published in 1907 and met with great success. He would write over twenty novels and collections featuring this character, while also pursuing a more ambitious literary career with naturalist novels influenced by Flaubert and Maupassant. He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1908.
* 1864-11-11 — † 1941-11-06
Major works
- Arsène Lupin, gentleman-cambrioleur (1907)short story collection
- Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès (1908)novel
- L'Aiguille creuse (1909)novel
- 813 (1910)novel
- Le Bouchon de cristal (1912)novel
Key milestones
- 1905Publication of the first Arsène Lupin story, 'The Arrest of Arsène Lupin', in the magazine Je sais tout.
- 1908Knighted in the Legion of Honour for services to French literature.
- 1941Died in Perpignan, then reinterred at Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris in 1947.
Themes
the gentleman burglarmystery and enigmaduality of the herosocial critiquenaturalism
Sources: britannica.com · gutenberg.org