Synopsis "The Crystal Stopper"

The Crystal Stopper is a mystery novel by Maurice Leblanc featuring the adventures of the gentleman thief Arsène Lupin. The novel appeared in serial form in the French newspaper Le Journal from September to November 1912 and was released as a novel subsequently. Maurice Leblanc was inspired by the infamous Panama scandals of 1892 and 1893. The novel borrows from Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Purloined Letter the idea of hiding an object in plain sight. During a burglary at the home of Deputy Daubrecq a crime is committed and two accomplices of Arsène Lupin are arrested by the police. One is guilty of the crime, the other innocent but both will be sentenced to death. Lupin seeks to deliver the victim of a miscarriage of justice, but struggles against Deputy Daubrecq's ruthless blackmailer, who has an incriminating document hidden in a crystal stopper.

Maurice LeBlanc

(Author)

View Author's Page

Maurice-Marie-Émile Leblanc (Rouen, December 11, 1864-Perpignan, November 6, 1941), better known as Maurice Leblanc, was a French novelist and short story writer

Born into a wealthy family, his father was a rich shipowner based in Rouen. After finishing his law studies, he dedicated himself to working in various industries in the region. After a while not applying himself much to industrial work, he moved to Paris, where he began his literary career, from around 1892 until 1904. He published about ten books, the first of which was titled: Des Couples (Couples).

In 1904, Pierre Laffite, director of Je sais Tout, commissioned him a story for his newly founded magazine. Maurice accepted the commission and soon delivered an original titled "The Arrest of Arsène Lupin". According to the author's own words, this was the only Lupin story he had planned. However, Pierre Laffite was strongly impressed by the character and encouraged Leblanc to develop the character.

Thus, at forty years old and with a literary prestige earned by his previous works, Arsène Lupin was born from the hand of Leblanc, a gentleman thief, whose work consists of almost 20 books.

See less