Biografisches zu: Maurice Leblanc
| Name: | Maurice Leblanc |
| Geboren: | 1864 |
| Gestorben: | 1941 |
Biographie:
French author and journalist, known as the creator of Arsène Lupin, French gentleman-thief turned detective. Leblanc was very prolific writer – he published over 60 novels and short stories which have been translated into several languages. Arsène Lupin appeared first time in a crime story L'ARRESTATION D'ARSÉNE LUPIN, which was written for periodical Je sais tout in 1905.
Leblanc was born in Rouen as the son of a wealthy shipping owner. He was educated in France, Germany (Berlin) and Italy, and worked for the family film. He studied law but abandoned his studies then to become a pulp crime writer and police reporter for French periodicals. His first works appeared in newspapers, such as Echo de Paris. In 1887 Leblanc published his first novel, UNE FEMME, a psychological study that enjoyed only moderate success.
Although he had long career as a writer for periodicals, it was not until the creation of Arsène Lupin, when he gained in his forties international fame, equaled only by that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Lupin, the ultimate gentleman criminal, kept Leblanc busy for the next twenty-five years. The character was born by an accidental assignment from the editor of a new journal, Je Sais Tout. Leblanc eventually became a member of the French Legion of Honour. He died in Perpignan on November 6, 1941.
The first Lupin novel, ARSENE LUPIN, GENTLEMAN CAMBRIOLEUR, appeared in 1907. Lupin is a master of disguise, whose criminal activities have more or less „unselfish“ grounds. If he steals a painting, it is so that it may be genuinely appreciated. His opponent is inspector Ganimard from the Sûrete. Later in his career Lupin works more in consort with the police. Leblanc himself became a concultant on the staff of the Paris Prefect of Police, and this shift reflected in the stories about Lupin. Among the best novels are 813 (1910), in which Lupin, accused of murder, heads the police investigation to clear himself by finding the true killer, and THE HOLLOW NEEDLE (1910), in which Lupin is shot by a beutiful girl and falls in love with her, vowing to give up his life of crime. THE SEVEN OF HEARTS (1908) is considered below the normal level of the series. – Arsene Lupin's adventures have been also basis for several movies and television series. In Japan the gentleman burglar has inspired a series about Lupin's grandson, Lupin III
Siehe auch: Maurice Leblanc
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