Erast Petrovich Fandorin ( Russian : Эраст Петрович Фандорин ) is a fictional 19th-century Russian detective and the hero of a series of Russian historical detective novels by Boris Akunin .
20-401: Arsène Lupin ( French pronunciation: [aʁsɛn lypɛ̃] ) is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc . The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazine Je sais tout . The first story, "The Arrest of Arsène Lupin", was published on 15 July 1905. The character has also appeared in
40-515: A detective novel which nobody would be ashamed to be caught reading, something between the literature of Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky and the pulp of modern Russian detective novels. He set out to write a cycle about Fandorin with an exploration of every subgenre of the detective novel in mind, from spies to serial killers. In addition, he wanted to address different types of human character in his books. As Akunin identified sixteen subgenres of crime novels, as well as sixteen character types,
60-409: A number of books by other writers as well as numerous film, television, stage play, and comic book adaptations. Five authorized sequels were written in the 1970s by the celebrated mystery writing team of Boileau-Narcejac . Arsène Lupin is a literary descendant of Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail 's fictional character Rocambole , whose adventures were published from 1857 to 1870. Like Rocambole, Lupin
80-464: A young Lupin for the first time. After legal objections from Arthur Conan Doyle, the name was changed to "Herlock Sholmès" either because of literary copyright on the character, or, as Maurice Leblanc's son claims, because Conan Doyle asked his father for this change. Sholmès returned in two more stories collected in Volume 2, " Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès ", and then in a guest-starring role in
100-468: Is a stock character in fiction. A gentleman or lady thief is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courtesy , and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to steal, and often has inherited wealth. They steal not only to gain material wealth but also for the thrill of the act itself, which is often combined in fiction with correcting a moral wrong, selecting wealthy targets, or stealing only particularly rare or challenging objects. In fiction,
120-448: Is often a force for good while operating on the wrong side of the law. Lupin shares similarities with E. W. Hornung 's gentleman thief A. J. Raffles , whose stories were published from 1898 to 1909. Both Raffles and Lupin have inspired later characters such as Louis Joseph Vance 's The Lone Wolf (created in 1914) and Leslie Charteris 's The Saint (created in 1928). Lupin was featured in 17 novels and 39 novellas by Leblanc, with
140-563: Is the term for the gentleman/lady thief in Japanese media such as anime , manga , and JRPGs . It draws inspiration from Arsène Lupin and elements in other crime fictions and detective fictions . Notable phantom thieves in Japanese popular culture include the following: Erast Fandorin The first Fandorin novel ( The Winter Queen , Russian: Азазель ) was published in Russia in 1998, and
160-588: The battle for the secret of the Hollow Needle in L'Aiguille creuse . Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès was published in the United States in 1910 under the title "The Blonde Lady" which used the name "Holmlock Shears" for Sherlock Holmes, and "Wilson" for Watson . It is also stated in this book that Arsene Lupin is a vegetarian for "hygiene" reasons though he is not averse to eating meat to avoid being eccentric or stand-out when in company while on
180-434: The character of Sherlock Holmes with the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle , the name "Herlock Sholmes" was used for the character of the same name in the international release of the video game series The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (2015–2021) in honour of Leblanc, with the characters of John and Iris Watson having their surnames changed to "Wilson". In the pastiche "Larsen Hupin dans les pas de Charles Kolms" (2021),
200-464: The collapse of the Soviet Union, many trashy detective novels were published that featured a lot of gore and sex. Akunin's wife, in common with many other Russians, started to enjoy reading this genre of literature. However, she did not want to be seen reading the novels and she always wrapped them in brown paper to prevent people from seeing what she was reading. This inspired Akunin to create
220-468: The detective investigates at the same time as the gentleman thief. In the pastiche The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – The Gentleman Burglar (2024), Holmes and Lupin team up to solve intricate riddles and journey across France and beyond to uncover the long-lost treasure of the House of Bourbon. Gentleman thief A gentleman thief , gentleman burglar , lady thief , or phantom thief
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#1732780004389240-490: The first books to 500,000 copies for the last. The English translations of the novels have been critically acclaimed by, among others, Ruth Rendell . In the Soviet Union , detective novels enjoyed mass popularity. Although they were seen as a "low genre" by the communist officials, both local (such as Igor (Georgy) Vayner and Julian Semenov ), and foreign detective novels have always been avidly coveted. After
260-408: The gentleman thief is typically superb at stealing while maintaining a gentleman's manners and a code of honour. For example, A. J. Raffles steals only from other gentlemen (and occasionally gives the object away to a good cause); Arsène Lupin steals from the rich who do not appreciate their art or treasures and redistributes it; Saint Tail steals back what was stolen or taken dishonestly or rights
280-481: The items in order to humiliate Britain, but he also admires Holmes and thus challenges him to try to stop him. In a novella The Prisoner of the Tower, or A Short But Beautiful Journey of Three Wise Men by Boris Akunin published in 2008 in Russia as the conclusion of "Jade Rosary Beads" book, Sherlock Holmes and Erast Fandorin oppose Arsène Lupin on 31 December 1899. Due to longstanding copyright issues related to
300-414: The job. Sherlock Holmes, this time with his real name and accompanied by familiar characters such as Watson and Lestrade (all copyright protection having expired), also confronted Arsène Lupin in the 2008 PC 3D adventure game Sherlock Holmes Versus Arsène Lupin . In this game Holmes (and occasionally others) are attempting to stop Lupin from stealing five valuable British items. Lupin wants to steal
320-511: The latest and the last one in 2023 ( The Pit , Russian: Яма ). More than 15 million copies of Fandorin novels have been sold as of May 2006, even though the novels were freely available from many Russian websites and the hard copies were relatively expensive by Russian standards. New books in the Fandorin series typically sell over 200,000 copies in the first week alone, with an unparalleled (for mystery novels) first edition of 50,000 copies for
340-503: The novellas or short stories collected into book form for a total of 24 books. The number becomes 25 if the 1923 novel The Secret Tomb is counted: Lupin does not appear in it, but the main character Dorothée solves one of Arsène Lupin's four fabulous secrets Several Arsène Lupin novels contain some fantasy elements: a radioactive "god-stone" that cures people and causes mutations is the object of an epic battle in L’Île aux trente cercueils ;
360-532: The novels in the Erast Fandorin series ultimately numbered sixteen, with the final novel, Not Saying Goodbye , published in 2018. The series is titled Новый детективъ ( New detective , or New Mystery ). This title serves to set the novels apart from the postmodernist intellectual novels as well as from the trashy detective novels, but it is also a subtle play on the use of time in the novels. Akunin uses many historical settings for his novels. He uses
380-785: The secret of the Fountain of Youth , a mineral water source hidden beneath a lake in the Auvergne, is the goal sought by the protagonists in La Demoiselle aux yeux verts ; finally, in La Comtesse de Cagliostro , Lupin's arch-enemy and lover is none other than Joséphine Balsamo , the alleged granddaughter of Cagliostro himself. Leblanc introduced Sherlock Holmes to Lupin in the short story "Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late" in Je sais tout No. 17, 15 June 1906. In it, an aged Holmes meets
400-548: The wrongs done to the innocent by implicating the real criminals; Sly Cooper and his gang steal from other thieves and criminals. Another example would be Kaito Kuroba who only steals to amuse the audience, to find the Pandora Gem and find the people who killed his father. Notable gentlemen thieves and lady thieves in Western popular culture include the following: Phantom thief ( Japanese : 怪盗 , Hepburn : kaitō )
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