813 (Warbler Classics Annotated Edition)

This Warbler Classics edition includes a detailed chronology of Leblanc’s life and work.

In 813, Maurice Leblanc’s epic tale, Arsène Lupin, master of disguise and celebrity thief, is framed in the murder of millionaire Rudolf Kesselbach, nicknamed alternatively the King of Diamonds and the Lord of the Cape. Lupin assumes the identity of the chief detective on the case in order to find the real murderer and, in the interest of France, find a secret parcel of documents that have the power to redraw the map of Europe. Lupin must use every ounce of his dazzling genius to escape ensnarement by both obvious and stealthy means.

Lupin has been depicted in countless film and stage adaptions, most recently as the inspiration of the Netflix series, Lupin, starring Omar Sy.

Maurice Leblanc (1864-1947) was a French writer best known for creating the fictional character of Arsène Lupin. Lupin’s first appearance in Je sais tout, a French periodical, heralded the arrival of the most captivating crook of the literary world. Leblanc would go on to feature his masterful thief in novels and short stories for the next thirty years.

“Rich man, big man though you may be, there is not so much difference between us. The son of the Augsburg ironmonger and Arsène Lupin, prince of burglars, can come to an understanding without shame on either side. I do my thieving indoors; you do yours on the Stock Exchange.” —from the book