If you love vintage mysteries, the Arsène Lupin series needs to be added to your personal library.
The intriguing character of Arsène Lupin was originally introduced in 1905 by Maurice Leblanc, a French author. The short stories of the character’s adventures and escapades have survived for over a century, recently inspiring an original series on Netflix called Lupin.
Alison Kuen, an author and avid fan of the Lupin series, wanted to learn more about the history of the character depicted in the Netflix adaptation. So, she conducted her own research to find dozens of original short stories published by Maurice Leblanc in the early 1900s, annotated them, and compiled them into chronological collections for other mystery fans.
The collected Arsène Lupin short stories by Maurice Leblanc
Kuen has published four collections of original Maurice Leblanc short stories featuring detective Arsène, and a fifth compilation is currently in the works. You can find all of the available books below!
Maurice Leblanc’s Arsène Lupin Gentleman-Burglar: The First Collection of Original Stories
In the first collection of short stories, we’re introduced to the mysterious “gentleman-burglar” himself: Arsène Lupin. This book contains the following stories:
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- The Arrest of Arsène
- Lupin Arsène
- Lupin in Prison
- The Escape of Arsène Lupin
- The Mysterious Traveller
- The Queen’s Necklace
- The Seven of Hearts
- Madame Imbert’s Safe
- The Black Pearl
- Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late
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Maurice Leblanc’s Arsène Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes: The Second Collection of Original Stories
In the second compilation of Lupin’s adventures, the stories begin to ramp up when Sherlock Holmes begins to get more involved in Lupin’s life. This book contains eight short stories:
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- The Lottery Ticket No. 514
- The Blue Diamond
- Herlock Sholmes Opens Hostilities
- Light in the Darkness
- An Abduction
- Second Arrest of Arsène Lupin
- The Jewish Lamp
- The Shipwreck
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Maurice Leblanc’s The Confessions of Arsène Lupin: The Third Collection of Original Stories
Lupin’s personal life starts to interfere with his detective work in this third collection of tales. The nine short stories in this book include:
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- Two Hundred Thousand Francs Reward!
- The Wedding Ring
- The Sign of the Shadow
- The Infernal Trap
- The Red Silk Scarf
- Shadowed By Death
- A Tragedy in the Forest of Morgues
- Lupin’s Marriage
- Edith Swan-Neck
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Maurice Leblanc’s The Eight Strokes of The Clock: The Fourth Collection of Original Stories
The exciting fourth installment of Lupin contains eight short stories:
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- On the Top of the Tower
- The Water-Bottle
- The Case of Jean Louis
- The Tell-Tale Film
- Thérèse and Germaine
- The Lady with the Hatchet
- Footprints in the Snow
- At the Sign of Mercury
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