The Eight Strokes of the Clock by Maurice Leblanc

The Eight Strokes of the Clock by Maurice Leblanc

The Eight Strokes of the Clock (1922) is a collection of short stories by Maurice Leblanc. Partly based on the life of French anarchist Marius Jacob, Arsène Lupin first appeared in print in 1905 as an answer to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Blending crime fiction, fantasy, and mystery, Leblanc crafts original and entertaining tales of adventure starring one of the greatest literary characters of all time--Arsène Lupin, gentleman thief.

Arsène Lupin is the world's greatest thief, an unmatched force for good whose exploits threaten the wealth and standing of France's most wicked men. In this debut installment of Leblanc's beloved series, Lupin uses his remarkable wit and chameleon-like ability to move undetected through aristocratic society in order to steal, trick, and cheat his way through life. Despite his criminal nature, he operates under a strict moral code, only taking from those who have taken from the poor all their lives. In this collection of short stories, Lupin reveals the adventures of a strangely familiar figure--himself. Using the alias Prince Rénine, he recalls some of his most thrilling escapades. With the help of his beautiful comrade Hortense, the Prince sets out to solve the mysterious disappearance and murder of several women. When Hortense goes missing, he fears for the worst, and must race against time in order to save her life. The Eight Strokes of the Clock is a story of romance, mystery, and crime that continues to astound over a century after it was published.

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Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc (1864 – 1941) was a French author and short story writer best known for creating Arsène Lupin, the fictitious gentleman thief and detective often compared to Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes. When the first Arsène Lupin story appeared in a series of short stories serialized in the journal Je Sais Tout, commencing in No. 1, Leblanc was mainly considered little more than a writer of short stories for various French periodicals. 6, dated July 15, 1905. The roguish and glamorous Lupin was a surprise hit, and Leblanc's fame and wealth beckoned. Obviously constructed at editorial request under the influence of and in reaction to the hugely famous Sherlock Holmes stories, the roguish and glamorous Lupin was a surprise success, and Leblanc's fame and fortune beckoned. Leblanc went on to write twenty-one Lupin novels and short story collections in total.