Maurice Leblanc

Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc (1864–1941) was a French writer born in Rouen. Mentored by Guy de Maupassant and influenced by Gustave Flaubert, he abandoned law studies in Paris to pursue writing, debuting with Une Femme in 1893. In 1905, commissioned by Je sais tout to rival Sherlock Holmes, Leblanc created Arsène Lupin, a heroic outlaw who became a French national icon. Despite plagiarism accusations from Arthur Conan Doyle, Lupin's enduring success defined Leblanc's career. Awarded the Legion of Honour in 1907, Leblanc married twice and died of pneumonia in Perpignan during World War II.