MAURICE LEBLANC: IN SEARCH OF THE DETECTIVE GENRE

Abstract

The works of young Maurice Leblanc, the future master of the detective genre, are examined in our article sub specie Lupinianae. The very pronounced impact of Maupassant and of Flaubert does not exclude Leblanc’s tendency – between 1890 and 1905 – toward criminal intrigues; some of the plots (which are sometimes studied schematically and approximately) incorporate certain storylines of Lupin’s cycle; the aura of Breton mysticism, the pre-futurist cult of the automobile and speed, a bit of “fin-de-siècle” elegance, a concise and at the same time colorful literary style are also the factors that contribute to the birth and to the long life of the «gentleman cambrioleur».