‘It is just when a thing gets beyond me that I
suspect Arsène Lupin most.’
-from the book
So confesses Chief-Inspector Ganimard, Lupin’s implacable enemy in The Blonde Lady, the second of Maurice Leblanc’s many books featuring Arsène Lupin.
Published in the UK under the title Arsène Lupin versus Holmlock Shears, in The Blonde Lady high-spirited aristocratic thief Arsène Lupin, outmaneuvers Chief-Inspector Ganimard and matches wits with the famous English detective Holmlock Shears and his indispensable sidekick Wilson (the obvious variation of the names of Sherlock Holmes and Watson were used to avoid copyright infringement).
This Warbler Classics edition relies upon the lively, faithful English translation by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos, whose sparkling translation of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar introduced English language readers to Maurice Leblanc’s irresistible creation. It also includes a newly revised translation of Leblanc’s eulogy to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and a biographical timeline.
Lupin has been depicted in countless film and stage adaptions, and most recently inspired the Netflix series, Lupin, starring Omar Sy.
Tabella dei contenuti
Contents
FIRST EPISODE. THE BLONDE LADY
Chapter I. Number 514, Series 23
Chapter II. The Blue Diamond
Chapter III. Holmlock Shears Opens Hostilities
Chapter IV. A Glimmer in the Darkness
Chapter V. Kidnapped
Chapter VI. The Second Arrest of Arsène Lupin
SECOND EPISODE. THE JEWISH LAMP
Chapter I
Chapter II
About Conan Doyle by Maurice Leblanc
Maurice Leblanc’s Life and Work
Circa l’autore
Maurice Leblanc (1864-1947) was a French writer best known for creating the fictional character of ArsËne Lupin. Lupin’s first appearance in Je sais tout, a French periodical, heralded the arrival of the most captivating crook of the literary world. Leblanc would go on to feature his masterful thief in novels and short stories for the next thirty years. Leblanc once said, ‘Lupin follows me everywhere. He is not my shadow. I am his shadow.’