The Arrest of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar

First published in the French magazine Je sais tout in 1905, “The Arrest of Arsène Lupin” serves as the introduction to the iconic gentleman burglar. A staple of early crime fiction, LeBlanc’s mysterious and masterful professional criminal is the anti-Sherlock Holmes, constantly confounding the public and police alike with his ability to “commit a crime without actually being present” and even meeting fiction’s greatest detective (unsubtly given the name Herlock Sholmes) in a later story. This novella of Arsène Lupin establishes the character as one of the greats of French crime literature with the mysterious arrival of a telegram to the passengers aboard a vessel bound for America announcing that the infamous burglar is on board the ship. But which traveler is really this master of disguise in disguise? It is up to the passengers on the ship to determine the false identity of Lupin before they dock in America, where Lupin’s nemesis, the famed Inspector Ganimard, is waiting.