I have previously posted on Arsène Lupin, who is a classic and well-known character in France. He is more popular there than Sherlock Holmes, and is a “gentleman thief” who became more an adventurer and solver of mysteries in later works.
At the time I did my first posting, Black Coat Press had not yet published two further novels considered classic works for the character, and while I had read and reviewed these works, I somehow failed to post them here. So here they are.
First up is 813 (1910) which is considered one of the best Arsène Lupin stories. It’s set two years after his adventures with Sherlock Holmes (published in two volumes by Black Coat Press), when most thought Lupin dead. Instead he’s be operating under another name as the head of the Sûreté! At the same time he is also operating under another alias, that of Russian Prince Sernine.
Lupin is after a secret that could re-write the map of Europe. It’s hidden under the number “813.” But he is opposed by the sinister figure known as L.M. who thwarts Lupin, as well as kills others who get in the way. L.M. even unmasks Lupin and gets him imprisoned.
Lupin has also sets up someone as the replacement for a lost grand duke, and sets up his own daughter as a potential suitor. He hopes to restore this grand duchy, with himself as a the power behind the throne.
Lupin is able to solve the mystery of 813 and reveal who L.M. is. L.M. is imprisoned, tried, and will be put to death.
But it all turns to ashes when Lupin unmasks the real L.M., who is the last person he thought it was. But the false L.M. (a dupe setup by the real L.M.) is executed, and Lupin’s false duke commits suicide. Despondent, Lupin lets people think he is dead, takes on the persona of Spanish grandee Don Luis Perenna, and joins the French Foreign Legion heading to Morocco.
A great adventure and mystery. You’ll have to read the story to find out who L.M. is and what “813” is. But it’s worth it.
Next up is The Island of the Thirty Coffins (1919). In this one, Lupin takes and solves the fourth and final of Cagliostro‘s mysteries: the God-Stone of the Kings of Bavaria. However, he actually doesn’t show up until two-thirds of the way through the novel!
The setting is a small, mysterious island off the coast of Brittany (Breton): Sarek, the so-called “Island of the Thirty Coffins” due to the 30 reefs or large dangerous rocks that circle the island. There is a small fishing community on the island, as well as a reclusive man and his son who live in a former monastery.
Veronique d’Hergemont comes to the island by accident (or not), and finds that her father and son, whom she thought drowned 14 years before are living on the island. Sadly, her mad husband, whom she also thought dead, is also on the island, and is pulled into the bizarre events of the island that would see over 30 people killed, all in the quest of the God-Stone.
Veronique and her son may also fall victim to the madness, but Lupin appears in his Don Luis Perenna identity he took on at the end of 813. He reveals the full story of the God-Stone and who Veronique’s husband is.
Another great Lupin adventure. Sadly, it doesn’t look like Black Coat Press will be translating any additional original stories. Would have liked to read the Crystal Stopper and Golden Triangle, as they sound interesting. I guess we’ll need to contend with new Lupin adventures in Tales of the Shadowmen.
