In 1905, French editor Pierre Lafitte commissioned Maurice Leblanc to write a series of short stories for the Je sais tout magazine to rival the UK-based The Strand ‘s Sherlock Holmes. In response, Leblanc gave birth to Arsene Lupin, a suave, genius thief and a master of disguise. The first story turned crime fiction on its head, beginning with the arrest of the perpetrator. It was an instant hit. Leblanc went on to publish a volume of work comprising 17 novels and 39 novellas.

More recently, Lupin reincarnated in Omar Sy’s eponymous 2021 French-language Netflix thriller. In the pilot episode, we are introduced to a Lupin-inspired Assane Diop (played by Sy), who orchestrates the theft of a priceless necklace, belonging to the erstwhile queen of France, Marie Antoinette, from the iconi

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