This is the most fun I've had with a book in some time! The heists of master thief Arsène Lupin, published in 1907, are fresh, funny, and ingenious, from the main plots to the little details - like the break-in to a baron's home where nothing is taken, but a card is left, reading "Will return when the furniture is genuine". Read by me on the recommendation of my 10yo daughter! #MauriceLeblanc #Bookstodon @bookstodon
@RanaldClouston Ok, so TIL the manga/anime hero Lupin III is supposed to be the grandson of Arsène Lupin.
@troberts I gather that Lupin is something of a folk hero in France, like Robin Hood or Sherlock Holmes for us. No idea if he is big in Japan - but the character does mention knowing jujitsu, which seems pretty wild for 1907 France.

@RanaldClouston Looking at the Wikipedia page, there’s lots and lots of film adaptations throughout the 20th century. Several from Japan, but also from Mexico, Germany, the US.

Maybe a character that had a lot of international appeal, but fell out of the public consciousness a bit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsène_Lupin#Films

Arsène Lupin - Wikipedia

@RanaldClouston @bookstodon I'm eager to check this out. There was recently a reprint of a Swedish author, Frank Heller, who wrote a similarly light series in the 1920s.about a European thief.

@RanaldClouston @bookstodon Is this the one where he meets his samurai friend?

/jk

@RanaldClouston I thought he was Black!
@ah the recent TV series is about the son of a Senegalese immigrant who is inspired by the old Lupin stories. It isn't a straight adaptation or even a modern day retelling.
@RanaldClouston hmm, I thought it was a manga? Nah, it's cool that the original story holds up!
@RanaldClouston @bookstodon I just finished the third book in the series, The Hollow Needle, which is a madcap battle of wits between Lupin and teenage detective genius Isidore Beautrelet with true love and the secret fortune of the kings of France in the balance.
@allyngibson @bookstodon sounds great! I'll get to the rest of his stories soon.