Maurice Leblanc French writer, science fiction writer, author of books about Arsene Lupine Date of Birth: 11.12.1864 Country: France

Maurice Leblanc: A Biography

Maurice Marie Emile Leblanc was a French writer, science fiction author, and the creator of the iconic fictional gentleman-thief and detective, Arsène Lupin. Leblanc achieved fame but also felt some dissatisfaction as he was unable to create another significant literary character throughout his career.

Maurice Leblanc was born on November 11, 1864, in Rouen, Normandy, where he received his education at Lycée Pierre Corneille. After studying in several countries and abandoning a legal school, Leblanc settled in Paris and began writing crime stories and full-length novels. His novels, influenced by writers such as Gustave Flaubert and Guy de Maupassant, were well-received by critics but did not immediately gain widespread popularity.

Leblanc's status as a relatively unknown author of stories for French periodicals changed after the publication of the first Arsène Lupin story. The adventures of the gentleman-thief were serialized in the magazine 'Je Sais Tout', starting from the sixth issue on July 15, 1905. In total, Leblanc wrote 21 novels or collections of stories about Lupin.

The inspiration for Leblanc's main character may have come from the French anarchist Marius Jacob, whose trial received significant media attention in March 1905. Leblanc may also have been influenced by Octave Mirbeau's 'Les 21 jours d'un neurasthénique', a book featuring a gentleman-thief named Arthur Lebo. The peculiar personality traits of Lupin may have been inspired by Ponson du Terrail's fictional character Rocambole. However, Leblanc was unaware of E. W. Hornung's anti-hero Arthur J. Raffles, created in 1899, and never read about this character.

In 1907, Maurice believed he had completed his work on the Arsène Lupin novels. However, due to the fantastic response and sales, Leblanc continued to write Lupin stories for the remainder of his career. Like Conan Doyle, whose most successful character Sherlock Holmes overshadowed his more "respectable" literary ambitions, Leblanc also felt some frustration at how popular Lupin had become.

Despite several attempts to create other significant characters, such as private detective Jim Barnett, all new heroes paled in comparison to Lupin. For this reason, Leblanc continued to delight readers with the adventures of the gentleman-thief in the 1930s. He also wrote two notable science fiction novels. The first, 'Les Trois Yeux', was published in 1919 and featured a scientist making visual contact with three-eyed Venusians. The second, 'Le Formidable Evènement', published in 1920, explored the consequences of an earthquake that created a new territory between England and France.

Leblanc was awarded the Legion of Honour for his contributions to literature. He passed away on November 6, 1941, in Perpignan and was buried in Montparnasse Cemetery. His sister, Georgette Leblanc, was a French opera singer, actress, and writer. The character Arsène Lupin III, the protagonist of the Japanese manga 'Lupin III', which debuted in 1967, is described as the grandson of Arsène Lupin. Although the creators of the manga did not seek permission from Leblanc's heirs, when a lawsuit was filed, the copyrights to Leblanc's works were invalidated. When the anime version of the manga was released in France, Arsène Lupin III was renamed Edgar, and the anime was titled 'Edgar, the Burglar Detective'.