The origin of Lupine, the thief who has inspired so many works of fiction

Arsene Lupine

Before going into talking about the origin of the thief Lupine , it is clear that there are a good number of characters who have already become myths and immovable icons of our cultural landscape and have given rise to all kinds of incarnations. Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Dracula ... all of them have had numerous adaptations to the small or big screen, and some with impressive twists to their main plots, or even asking us what their stories would be like in a completely different setting. 

In the world of robberies and the white glove we also have several star characters, of course. But today in particular we are going to tell you about Lupine, a most interesting thief who has served as inspiration for all kinds of fictional works. In fact, the beginning of the year has been warm for the Lupine myths, since this month both Lupine , the French Netflix series starring Omar Sy, and Lupine III: The First , a new anime film, have arrived in our country based on the manga of the legendary Monkey Punch and which opens today in our cinemas.

To get to the heart of the whole matter we have to go back to 1905, when the adventures of Arsène Lupine , a thief and a gentleman, began to be published in the French magazine Je sais tout by Maurice Leblanc . The character began his literary career with a series of short adventures, which were later compiled into small volumes, giving rise to a good number of novels and longer stories, with up to 24 published books starring Leblanc's Lupine and even several works by theater officers.

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The writer could not choose a better time to introduce his character, since just a few months before the publication of the first Lupine story , the trial took place against Marius Jacob, an anarchist worker who had carried out more than 150 robberies both in Paris and surroundings as abroad. The arrest and trial of Jacobs had French society on edge, with the press spreading more fire and fueling the scandal. This thief became an idol of the masses, since apparently he had a great sense of humor and a lot of empathy and generosity towards his victims. 

Thanks to how popular the figure of Jacob had become, a multitude of people came to demonstrate in his favor, with which the thief managed to escape from the guillotine. Jacob's methods, like his personality, were one of the key points for Maurice Leblanc to create his Lupine , with whom he also tried to replicate the success that Arthur Conan Doyle had had with his Sherlock Holmes by raising the most brainy cases in serialized form.

In fact , the relationship between Lupine and Holmes went further , since Leblanc was a big fan of the British detective so he decided to include him in his own stories, creating the definitive crossover of the moment.  The thing was not very funny on the other side of the English Channel and Doyle appealed legally, with which the name of the detective became " Herlock Sholmes " in the reissue of the first story and in subsequent stories (take legal hole! ).

Besides, Lupine was not a "vulgar" street thief.  He was quite a refined gentleman, with a monocle and a top hat, with notions of fencing, medicine and law, who also knew ancient languages ​​and even sleight of hand and jiu-jitsu and had a superior intellect that allowed him to solve any mystery. Come on, there was nothing Lupine couldn't do.

On this basis, it is not surprising that the character of Lupine made the imaginations of all kinds of creators fly, even giving rise to several authorized sequels. Of course, Lupine has also had his adaptations to theater, comics, manga, video games, television series and movies, the most recent in 2004 with Romain Duris as the thief.

As if the "canon" material was not enough, more than one author has not missed the opportunity to use it in their stories, since Lupine has also appeared as a secondary or making a cameo in all kinds of creations, with an important mention of all those who decide to take advantage of the salseo with Sherlock Holmes and bring the two characters together. Of course, it is very possible that Lupine III , the fictional grandson of Arsène Lupine created by Monkey Punch, is one of the most appreciated derivative works and that he has also managed to carve out his own stellar reputation as a white-collar thief.  

And for you? What is the best version of Lupine?