Maurice-Marie-Émile Leblanc (Rouen, December 11, 1864-Perpignan, November 6, 1941), better known as Maurice Leblanc, was a French novelist and short story writer
Born into a wealthy family, his father was a rich shipowner based in Rouen. After finishing his law studies, he dedicated himself to working in various industries in the region. After a while not applying himself much to industrial work, he moved to Paris, where he began his literary career, from around 1892 until 1904. He published about ten books, the first of which was titled: Des Couples (Couples).
In 1904, Pierre Laffite, director of Je sais Tout, commissioned him a story for his newly founded magazine. Maurice accepted the commission and soon delivered an original titled "The Arrest of Arsène Lupin". According to the author's own words, this was the only Lupin story he had planned. However, Pierre Laffite was strongly impressed by the character and encouraged Leblanc to develop the character.
Thus, at forty years old and with a literary prestige earned by his previous works, Arsène Lupin was born from the hand of Leblanc, a gentleman thief, whose work consists of almost 20 books.
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