Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes

Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes (French: Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmes) is the second collection of Arsène Lupin stories written by Maurice Leblanc, featuring two adventures following a match of wits between Lupin and Herlock Sholmes. The character "Herlock Sholmes" is a transparent reference to Sherlock Holmes of Arthur Conan Doyle's detective stories,[1] who appeared in "Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late", one of the eight stories in the first collection, Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar. The collection was translated twice into English, as Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes in the US (1910, by George Morehead), and as Arsène Lupin versus Holmlock Shears in the UK (1910, by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos, printed as The Blonde Lady in the US).

Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes
AuthorMaurice Leblanc
Original titleArsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmes
TranslatorGeorge Morehead
Alexander Teixeira de Mattos
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
SeriesArsène Lupin
GenreCrime fiction
Publication date
1908
Published in English
1910
Media typePrint
Preceded byArsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar 
Followed byThe Hollow Needle 

Publication history

The two stories were initially published in the magazine Je sais tout from November 1906. The first story, The Blonde Lady, was published from November 1906 to April 1907, while the second, The Jewish Lamp, appeared in September and October 1907. The collection of these two stories was published with modifications in February 1908, and in 1914, another edition appeared with further modifications. The English translations appeared in 1910.

Contents

The two English collections contain the following chapters or stories:

Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes (2 stories)

1) "The Blond Lady" (novel)

  • Lottery Ticket No. 514
  • The Blue Diamond
  • Herlock Sholmes Opens Hostilities
  • Light in the Darkness
  • An Abduction
  • Second Arrest of Arsène Lupin

2) "The Jewish Lamp" (tale)

  • The Shipwreck
Arsène Lupin versus Holmlock Shears, aka The Blonde Lady (2 stories)
  • "The Blonde Lady", comprising six chapters
    • Number 514, Series 23
    • The Blue Diamond
    • Holmlock Shears Opens Hostilities
    • A Glimmer in the Darkness
    • Kidnapped
    • The Second Arrest of Arsène Lupin
  • "The Jewish Lamp", comprising two chapters
    • Chapter I
    • Chapter II

Summary

The first story, "The Blonde Lady", opens with the purchase of an antique desk by a mathematics professor. The desk is subsequently stolen, as it turns out, by Arsène Lupin. Later, both Lupin and the professor realize that a lottery ticket, left inadvertently in the desk, is the winning ticket, and Lupin proceeds to ensure he obtains half of the winnings while executing a near-impossible escape with a blonde lady. After the theft of the Blue Diamond, again by a blonde lady, Ganimard made the connection to Lupin and an appeal was made to Herlock Sholmes to match wits with Lupin. Inadvertently, Lupin and his biographer met with the newly arrived Sholmes and his assistant, Wilson, in a Parisian restaurant, and they shared a cautious détente before Lupin sets off to lay his traps. Despite Lupin's efforts, Sholmes is able to unveil the identity of the blonde lady and Lupin's involvement in the crimes linked to her. Lupin succeeded in trapping Sholmes, however, and sends him off to Southampton in a boat, but Sholmes manages to escape back to Paris and engineer the arrest of Lupin. After Sholmes leaves, however, Lupin outfoxes his French captors and manages to bid farewell to Sholmes and Wilson at the Gare du Nord.

"The Jewish Lamp" opens with another appeal to Herlock Sholmes for help in recovering a Jewish lamp. After reading the appeal, Sholmes is shocked to read a second letter, this time by Lupin and arriving on the same day's post, which warns him not to intervene. Sholmes is outraged by Lupin's audacity and resolves to go to Paris. At the Gare du Nord, Sholmes is accosted by a young lady, who again warns him not to intervene, and finds that the Echo de France, Lupin's mouthpiece newspaper, is proclaiming his arrival. Sholmes proceeds to investigate the crime and finds out the true reason for Lupin's appeal not to intervene.

Film adaptation

A 1910 film serial entitled Arsène Lupin contra Sherlock Holmes adapted Leblanc's stories. German copyright laws allowed the producers to return "Sholmes" to the proper "Sherlock Holmes" who was portrayed by Viggo Larsen.[2]

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See also
  • Pop culture references to Sherlock Holmes

References
  1. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 32. ISBN 9780857687760.
  2. Bunson, Matthew (1994). Encyclopedia Sherlockiana: an A-to-Z guide to the world of the great detective. Macmillan. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-671-79826-0.
English translations
Original French text
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