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Arsène Lupin Books in Order

Part ofMaurice Leblanc Books in Order

This page lists the Arsène Lupin novels by Maurice Leblanc in order, with plot summaries, series background, character notes, and recommendations on the best reading path through the gentleman thief’s adventures.

Last updated: June 7, 2026

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Publication Order

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26 books

1

The Arrest of Arsene Lupin

by Maurice Leblanc

1905

On a transatlantic liner, rumours spread that Arsène Lupin is travelling under an alias. As nervous passengers trade clues and accusations, a young woman's jewels vanish and a dramatic docking-day arrest reveals just how far ahead the thief has been thinking.

2

Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief

by Maurice Leblanc

1907

A widely read English-language sampler of Lupin stories, following him through arrests, escapes, and glamorous burglaries, and giving newcomers an easy way to see why this playful French thief is often mentioned alongside Sherlock Holmes and Robin Hood.

3

Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes

by Maurice Leblanc

1908

Two longer adventures bring Lupin face to face with Herlock Sholmes, a barely disguised version of Sherlock Holmes. Their contests over a mysterious blonde lady and a vanished jewel become duels of logic, ego, and timing across the Channel.

4

The Exploits of Arsene Lupin

by Maurice Leblanc

1909

Another selection of Lupin escapades in which he hunts for hidden inheritances, cracks ingenious safes, and turns apparent defeats into last-minute victories, all while keeping both the police and his criminal rivals guessing about his next move.

5

813 / Les Trois Crimes d'Arsène Lupin

by Maurice Leblanc

1910

In one of Lupin's darkest cases, three murders marked by the number 813 pit him against an international conspiracy and relentless police pressure. Suspected himself, he must navigate shifting alliances and double identities to expose the true mastermind.

6

The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar

by Maurice Leblanc

1910

This classic collection introduces Arsène Lupin in nine exuberant tales, from his capture on an ocean liner to his first duel with Sherlock Holmes, showcasing the shipboard disguises, impossible thefts, and sly humour that defined the gentleman-burglar.

7

The Hollow Needle

by Maurice Leblanc

1911

Lupin's battle with brilliant schoolboy detective Isidore Beautrelet centres on the 'Hollow Needle', a cliffside cavern said to house the hidden treasure of the kings of France. The chase leads to Étretat, secret passages, and a revelation that could topple dynasties.

8

The Crystal Stopper

by Maurice Leblanc

1912

A burglary at the home of crooked deputy Daubrecq ends in murder and the arrest of two of Lupin's men, one innocent, one guilty. To save the wrongfully condemned, Lupin must wrest an explosive political secret hidden inside a seemingly ordinary crystal stopper.

9

The Confessions of Arsène Lupin

by Maurice Leblanc

1913

In these stories Arsène Lupin speaks in his own voice, confessing adventures that range from country-house robberies to dark tragedies in remote forests, and revealing the private code, sudden fits of generosity, and occasional failures behind his public legend.

10

The Return of Arsène Lupin

by Maurice Leblanc

1917

In a France still scarred by the First World War, Patrice Belval is accused of murder while trying to protect a friend. As he and Ya-Bon search for the truth, rumours swirl that Arsène Lupin died years ago—until a familiar figure appears to tilt the scales.

11

The Golden Triangle

by Maurice Leblanc

1918

Wounded officer Patrice Belval and his Senegalese comrade Ya-Bon foil an attempt to kidnap nurse Coralie, uncovering a plot that links a wartime hospital, a buried hoard of gold, and a shadowy enemy. When all seems lost, Lupin himself steps in from the shadows.

12

The Island of the Thirty Coffins

by Maurice Leblanc

1920

Summoned to the storm-lashed island of Sarek, Arsène Lupin confronts the ruthless Vorski and a legend that promises thirty deaths. Between an apparently supernatural curse and hidden wartime intrigues, he fights to save Véronique d'Hergemont and her son.

13

The Secret of Sarek

by Maurice Leblanc

1920

Years after her child is stolen, Véronique learns he is alive on the cursed island of Sarek, ringed by deadly reefs and ancient legends. Her search draws her into a prophecy of thirty coffins, a fanatical cult, and a secret only a few Lupin stories even hint at.

14

The Teeth of the Tiger

by Maurice Leblanc

1920

Here Lupin hides behind the identity of Don Luis Perenna, executor of a vast fortune whose heirs are being murdered one by one. Racing a three-month deadline, he must unmask the killer, outwit the police, and decide what justice means when he stands to inherit.

15

The Eight Strokes of the Clock

by Maurice Leblanc

1923

Eight romantic mystery tales linked by the chimes of a clock follow Prince Rénine and Hortense Daniel as they travel through France solving abductions, disappearances, and family scandals, each case revealing a different facet of love, danger, and ingenuity.

16

Memoirs of Arsene Lupin

by Maurice Leblanc

1925

This prequel novel, based on Lupin's own 'memoirs', recalls his first great adventure at twenty, when he falls for the enchanting Countess Cagliostro and battles her for control of a seven-branched candlestick that conceals a centuries-old treasure.

17

Arsene Lupin, Super-Sleuth

by Maurice Leblanc

1927

A full-length Lupin novel in which the celebrated thief recasts himself as a detective, untangling a case of two nearly identical women, a murdered heiress, and ruthless conspirators, proving that his talent for disguise works just as well on the side of the law.

18

The Girl with The Green Eyes

by Maurice Leblanc

1927

Young lawyer Ralph de Limézy is captivated by an English girl and a mysterious beauty with striking green eyes, then swept into murders, robberies, and secret identities in Paris, where Arsène Lupin moves in the shadows of a dangerous love triangle.

19

Jim Barnett Intervenes

by Maurice Leblanc

1928

Published under its British title, this volume follows the theatrical Jim Barnett as he takes on wealthy clients with impossible problems, exposing family secrets and elaborate frauds while the police slowly realise their helpful detective is really Arsène Lupin.

20

Arsene Lupin Intervenes

by Maurice Leblanc

1929

In these linked stories Lupin appears as shabby private detective Jim Barnett, meddling in jewel thefts, forged letters, and rigged card games, baiting Inspector Béchoux while quietly rescuing victims and making sure the worst villains pay for their tricks.

21

The Mélamare Mystery

by Maurice Leblanc

1929

After diamonds vanish at the Paris Opera and an actress is abducted, jovial tycoon Van Houben turns to gentleman-sailor Jean d'Enneris, secretly Arsène Lupin, whose hunt for the culprits leads to a sinister noble house and a feud between two families.

22

The Double Smile

by Maurice Leblanc

1933

When an unsolved murder at a country château collides with the schemes of gangster Grand Paul, Arsène Lupin, under the name Raoul, pursues a fortune and a woman who may be Clara or Antonine, uncovering a past crime behind her two disarming smiles.

23

Arsene Lupin Vs Countess Cagliostro

by Maurice Leblanc

1935

An omnibus charting Lupin's long duel with the dangerous Countess Cagliostro, from his first great adventure as a twenty-year-old thief to a later clash driven by revenge, all tied to a mystical candlestick and a hidden royal treasure.

24

Lupin

by Maurice Leblanc

2021

A modern anthology of classic Arsène Lupin tales assembled for readers coming from the hit TV adaptation, highlighting capers, disguises, and personal vendettas that show how Leblanc's charming thief keeps outsmarting police, millionaires, and fellow criminals.

25

The Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief

by Maurice Leblanc

2021

This collection brings together early adventures of Arsène Lupin, following him from audacious shipboard thefts and prison escapes to drawing-room robberies and double-crosses, and showcases the blend of humour, romance, and ingenuity that made him a sensation.

26

The Best Stories of Arsène Lupin

by Maurice Leblanc

2021

Collects some of Maurice Leblanc's most memorable Arsène Lupin cases, from jewel thefts and locked-room puzzles to battles of wits with rival detectives, giving new readers a lively, one-volume introduction to the gentleman thief's world.

Series background & context

Arsène Lupin is introduced as a gentleman thief, a master of disguise who can move as easily through a first‑class salon as a prison cell. The core novels and story collections follow him through Belle Époque France and into the turmoil of the First World War, always playing cat and mouse with the law.

He steals from the corrupt rich, helps the unlucky when it suits him, and treats every case as a game to be won with style rather than brute force.

The series begins with magazine stories later collected in Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar, where we see his arrest on an Atlantic liner, his apparently impossible robberies while in prison, and his first brush with the English detective Herlock Sholmes. Longer novels such as The Hollow Needle and The Crystal Stopper widen the canvas, tying Lupin to hidden royal treasures, political scandals, and secrets that could embarrass an entire government.

As the books go on, Leblanc keeps changing the frame around his hero. In 813 Lupin is entangled in a triple murder and a vast international plot. In The Teeth of the Tiger he becomes Don Luis Perenna, executor of a murdered millionaire’s fortune whose heirs keep dying in suspicious ways. The Cagliostro cycle, including Memoirs of Arsene Lupin and the episodes gathered in Arsene Lupin Vs Countess Cagliostro, looks back to his youth and to a deadly love affair with the spellbinding countess who knows some of his deepest secrets.

Other books push Lupin to the margins and let new figures carry the story, only to reveal his hand at the crucial moment. War stories like The Golden Triangle and The Return of Arsène Lupin show him intersecting with wounded veterans and spies, while novels featuring Prince Rénine or the detective Jim Barnett clearly echo Lupin’s methods and humour even when his name hardly appears.

Across all of these works the tone stays quick and playful, even when the stakes involve murder, war, or national honour. Readers can expect clever puzzles, hidden passageways, disguises within disguises, and abrupt reversals in which the apparent victim reveals a second life.

Modern editions often rearrange or group the books in different ways, but you do not have to read them in strict publication order. Many readers start with a story collection, then branch into a few of the major novels, following Lupin from light‑fingered burglar to reluctant hero and back again.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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All 26 Arsène Lupin Books in Order (Complete List 2026)