The Gentleman Thief 怪盗亚森•罗苹

He is handsome, charming, highly intelligent, and a master of disguise. He steals, but only from the rich, and marries four times. He travels the world using a number of names and his adventures are the talk of Paris. Who is this fascinating celebrity? He is Arsene Lupin, gentleman-criminal-turned-detective and one of France’s best-known and best-loved literary figures.

Created by French writer Maurice Leblanc, Lupin first appeared in 1905 in the French magazine “Je Sais Tout” (I Know Everything). The magazine regularly contained stories featuring the criminal genius, and in 1907 published a collection called “Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Burglar.”

The daring thief’s exploits achieved a level of popularity to match that of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Indeed, Leblanc was himself a great fan of the fictional English detective, and wrote a Holmes-like detective named Herlock Sholmes into several of Lupin’s greatest adventures.

Maurice Leblanc was born in northern France in 1864. His wealthy father, the owner of a successful shipping firm, sent Maurice to be educated in France, Germany and Italy. Leblanc spent some time working for his father, and later began studying law. However, he gave it all up to become a writer.

After spending many years in obscurity, Leblanc finally gained literary fame in his 40s with the creation of Arsene Lupin. In contrast to Sherlock Holmes, the ultimate detective, Lupin was an extreme version of the gentleman criminal, a popular character in fiction and film throughout the 20th century.

Following the success of the first novel, Arsene Lupin kept his creator busy for the next quarter of a century. The last book in the 20-book series, “the Billions of Arsene Lupin,” came out in 1933. Leblanc died in the south of France eight years later.

It may seem surprising that a fictional thief should be so enthusiastically received. Yet Lupin,though often on the wrong side of the law, is definitely a force for good. His true enemies are always evil men whose crimes are far worse than his own. Moreover his crimes are often motivated by good intentions. Later in his career, Lupin actually works with the police, and in one adventure, even leads a murder investigation.

His ongoing battle of wits with Herlock Sholmes accounts for some memorable events. Their rivalry leads to a gun battle which kills the woman with whom Lupin had decided to settle down. Devastated by her death, Lupin returns once more to his life of crime. He eventually has his revenge on Sholmes by solving a riddle that the detective couldn not. By outwitting Sholmes, Arsene Lupin is, once and for all, proved to be the world’s greatest criminal genius.

他英俊迷人，聪明绝顶，是个伪装高手。他行窃，但只对富人下手，他结过四次婚。他以多个化名环游世界，他的冒险也在巴黎传颂一时。这个让人着迷的人是谁呢？他就是亚森·罗苹，绅士怪盗名侦探，也是法国最有名而且最受喜爱的文学人物之一。

由法国作家莫里斯·勒布朗所塑造的罗苹在1905年的一本法语杂志《我什么都知道》中首次登场。这本杂志定期在专栏刊登这位犯罪天才的故事，并在1907年编辑出版《怪盗亚森·罗苹》一书。

这个大胆窃贼的业绩受欢迎的程度足以与阿瑟·柯南道尔笔下的福尔摩斯媲美。事实上，勒布朗自己就是这名虚构英国侦探的狂热崇拜者，而且他将一名神似福尔摩斯的侦探写入罗苹的许多精彩冒险故事中，甚至给他取名为“摩尔福斯”。

1864年莫里斯·勒布朗出生在法国北部。莫里斯富有的父亲是一家生意兴隆的运输公司老板，他把莫里斯送到法国、德国和意大利接受教育。勒布朗为父亲工作了一段时间，后来开始攻读法律。可是他还是放弃了一切成为了一名作家。

勒布朗多年来一直默默无闻，终于在四十多岁时因创作亚森·罗苹享誉文坛。不同于福尔摩斯，这位天下第一侦探—罗苹，以绅士怪盗这个极为不同的造型，成为纵横20世纪小说界和影坛受欢迎的人物。

第一本小说一炮打响后，亚森·罗苹使他的创作者忙碌了25年。20本亚森·罗苹系列丛书中的最后一本《万变的亚森·罗苹》于1933年问世。勒布朗于八年后在法国南部逝世。

一个虚构的窃贼竟会受到如此热烈的反应似乎很让人感到意外。虽然罗苹经常犯法，但他绝对是一个促人从善的人。他的真正敌人总是远比他罪孽还要深重的邪恶之徒。而且他犯罪的动机总是出于善意。在后期的侦探生涯中，罗苹其实还与警方一同办案，在一次冒险中，他甚至还主持了对一件谋杀案的调查。