THE GENTLEMAN THIEF

Arsene Lupin! Such a wonderful creation by Maurice Leblanc!

Arsene Lupin is a stylish and dashing French character with all daring, charm and panache. He is called literature’s greatest gentleman thief and detective. I was never aware of this gentleman thief, but after reading this first book, I became an immediate fan of his elegance and alacrity, at the same time the prowess and brilliance of Leblanc’s storytelling earned a special place right away in the list of my loved authors.

In the introduction, I came to know that in 1905 Leblanc was solicited to contribute a short story to be written in the manner of Sherlock Holmes. The interesting fact is that in the book where Lupin first appeared, there was a tale called “Sherlock Holmes arrives too late” where Leblanc introduced the famous Baker Street detective to his mix. After a legal objection from Canon Doyle, the name of British master sleuth was changed to Herlock Sholmes. This second book of collection of two long stories was Arsene Lupin Contre Herlock Sholmes in France. It was published in the UK under the title of Arsene Lupin versus Holmlock Shears in 1909. I began this and did not stop till the end that is always an achievement for me as I am a reader, who reads a book in installments, taking my time, switching to other books to avoid boredom and having multiple tasks in between.


Lupin is a master of disguise and keeps smiling through difficulties and dangers. Though this is crime fiction, the writing of the author is very witty and an element of fun lingers everywhere.

‘Do you mean you are still vegetarian?
‘Yes more than ever,’ said Lupin.
‘From taste? Conviction? Habit ?’
‘For reason of health.’
‘And do you never break your rule?’
‘Óh yes …. When I go out to dinner, so as not to appear eccentric.’

Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes

This book has two long stories; “The Fair-haired lady’’ and “The Jewish lamp.”
In the first story, an antique desk is stolen from the house of a mathematics professor and then there is a theft of blue diamond in the city. Police inspector Ganimard suspects the role of Lupin and his accomplice, the fair-haired lady but is not able to prove it. He takes the service of English detective Holmlock Shears, who is a perfect match for the Lupin. He is as smart and alert as Lupin.
The combat and fight between the Lupin and Holmlock Shears are written in a very mystified way, lots of unpredictable turns in the story and all with such precision and elegance that it gives the readers a sense of atonement. Similar is the case with the second story.

The most enjoyable part for me was the graceful and refined ways of functioning of both the enemies; The greatest burglar Lupin and the smartest detective Holmlock. This is a very lively book full of humor and mystery are woven together that keeps the reader hooked to this page-turning crime mystery.

Writing is very good. Precision and logic just near perfect!

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Love of Life:A single story by Jack London

I had experienced this author first in his more famous book White Fang, I was outright impressed by the writing and story both.Jack London was famous for ‘Call of the wild’. I still remember that story of the amazing wolf dog! I wanted to have more of the author but unfortunately, since then time has not been very favorable to read longer work. Last month I decided to turn to smaller fictional work of some authors especially for my French and Spanish creels (I have hung two such separate brown swaying creels on a peg in my room for my anticipating shorter reads) so that there should not remain a sense of repentance in me that I am not touching new authors and new regimes.

So remembering my forgotten promise made to myself to read more of Jack London, I picked up this single story. I was well pleased with the decision. It made a mark and recalled my lost memories of The White Fang.

This story begins with two men staggering through the icy cold milky water, heavily burdened with a blanket pack strapped to their shoulders and head straps pressed across the forehead, a rifle too with them. the water squirting out under their feet with every step as they are making their way from muskeg to muskeg. One man, who is walking behind seems faint and reels then almost falling and losing his strength to move on. He calls out to the man making his way ahead of him,

I say, Bill! I have sprained my ankle.

The man named Bill does not look around. The other man makes a pleading cry of a strong man in life-threatening distress.

Bill!

Bill doesn’t look back and moving ahead passes over the crest and disappears. cowering in the midst
of such overwhelming force of milky water crushing and pressing upon him, this man gathers strength and tries to reach to bank with an optimistic mindset that he will find Bill there and that Bill has not deserted him. This story is of some icy cold swamps of North America. The stream in which he was stood was the feeder of Coppermine river, to the south of which was the Great Bear Lake.

I could easily understand here that it’s going to be another tale of the favorite themes of the author that is SURVIVAL in most adverse natural conditions. And indeed it turned out to be one. These guys
were in search of wealth, putting their lives in danger.

Jack London’s mastery in depicting such a story of survival and fight against hunger and cold weather condition is commendable. His writing is ingenious and quite fanciful. I liked this story and his writing in shorter form is as alluring as I first found in his novel. His short stories were received with critical acclaim, I think he deserved it.