The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Burglar [Classic Tales Edition]

By: Maurice Leblanc

Narrated by: B.J. Harrison

Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

Fine-art aficionado. Master of disguise. Jewelry expert. Historian. Gentleman. Burglar. Arsene Lupin is all of these and more. In 1905, Maurice Leblanc introduced his gentleman burglar in the story "L'Arrestation d'Arsène Lupin". Shortly thereafter, the stories were collected as one single volume. In these charming adventures, Lupin orchestrates a myriad of extravagant heists in the very face of the determined Inspector Ganimard. With his sparkling wit, his sharp eye for detail, and his incredible gift of anticipation, Lupin carries off the most amazing thefts and never leaves a clue behind. And yet he is ever the embodiment of gentlemanly manners and old-school chivalry. Take these first adventures for a whirl, and witness how he measures up when he goes toe to toe with the redoubtable Sherlock Holmes himself!

Public Domain (P)2015 B.J. Harrison

The Original Gentleman Thief

These are the first tales of the legendary thief, Arsene Lupin. I'm not very familiar with French literature, but this collection gave me the same feeling as reading some good Victorian literature. If you're a fan of that genre, heist movies, or the Lupin III anime series you should enjoy this.

Each adventure is as unique as the treasures Lupin steals and the French prose is gorgeously translated. Sherlock Holmes fans are especially in for a treat. Finally, B.J. Harrison is excellent as a narrator. Very highly recommended!

Outstanding!

If you could sum up The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Burglar [Classic Tales Edition] in three words, what would they be?

Excellent quality reading

Any additional comments?

There is plenty of info on Maurice LeBlanc's Lupin series available online so I'll leave this to the quality of the product itself.
If it was at all possible I'd give this ten stars. I've been listening to audiobooks for ages. Professional ones, hobbyist ones, Librivox ones, computer generated ones... This is really one of the most enjoyable listens I've had. B. J. Harrison really caught the mood and tenor of the Arsene Lupin stories. While sometimes an audiobook can be a slog to get through because I just wind up wanting to find out what happens next, despite the reader... in the case of these stories, I look forward to the next chance I get to listen to them with joy.
B. J. has also read the the crossover book Arsene Lupin vs Sherlock Holmes, which I'll eagerly listen to next.
If you are out there reading this reveiw, Mr. Harrison, might I request adding to this collection with The Hollow Needle, which is distantly related to Lupin vs Holmes... or La Comtesse de Cagliostro (Memoirs of Arsene Lupin) which IMO is one of the finest Lupin stories written?
Thank you for doing these, they are really a treat!

Over 100 years old and still amazing

I could never have expected that this book that was released in 1907 would still hold up today. In the past I tried to read Sherlock Holmes and found it a chore the same at times with some lesser grade Poirot stories, but this one is beyond amazing. I was actually fooled by the twist in the first story I should have seen it coming but I didn't.
Lupin himself isn't a alright perfect being with no character he is human with desires and wants and a personality that feeds on our own most selfish fantasies and I never tire of his narration or his exuberance for life. When Sherlock Holmes fails he refuses to ever talk about it again and grumbles if he is reminded of it, Poirot never fails but still he is humble and kind in spite of his egotism, when Lupin fails he tells his best friend about it and they both laugh at the stupidity of it all

I love this book an insane amount

BJ Harrison is absolutely the best narrator

BJ Harrison is absolutely the best narrator I have ever heard. Great job. Loved the book

An interesting listen!

A companion for those of us enjoying “Lupin” on Netflix. The French Arsene Lupin tales are new to me.

Love it

Like many, I have started reading these books because of the Omar Sy, Netflix series, Lupin. Also bought the books to read along. Light, easy & at times even funny. Narrator does an extremely well job with all the characters also. Well done!

An interesting and creative set

Interesting and creative stories. Sometimes hard to follow but nevertheless captivating. The closing story was a real winner.

A French classic brought to life.

While my interest in the stories themselves waned in and out, the amazing performance by B.J. Harrison helped keep my attention throughout. Chapter 1, 2, and 9 are definitely the strongest, with the Seven of Hearts being the weakest, in my opinion.

loved this narrator!

I am sometimes easily distracted while listening to audiobooks, especially because I tend to be doing other tasks. I found these stories easy to follow, even if I had "zoned out" for a bit. The performance by the narrator was just excellent. His grasp for accents and voices allowed him to seamlessly move between characters in a way that was not distracting and kept me immersed in the story.

Worst writer ever

this is written as some self-important aHole bragging about himself in the 3rd person...after 3hrs I couldn't take it anymore.

Inspiration for hit Netflix TV show

Having thoroughly enjoyed the recent Netflix TV series Lupin staring the amazing Omar Sy, I was keen to find out more about the "Gentleman Burglar" and chose to listen to this collection of original stories from the early twentieth century by creator Maurice Lablanc.
These self contained short stories are amusing for their cunningness as you would expect. This collection contains the story of Marie Antoinette's necklace which forms that basis for the first Netflix series. While the TV show is heavily stylised we need to remember that these stories were written in a different era and has a similar feeling to watching Sherlock and then reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The parallels between our French burglar and English detective do not end there and Holmes makes an appearance in one of the stories in this collection. I am looking forward to the next installment of the Netflix series and, in the meantime, these books are a good stopgap.

Great read

I enjoyed everything about the book, the narration and story was excellent, got me fully immersed.

classic adventures.

if you enjoy books like sherlock of Christie. this is a nice addition with a twist. also interesting to see the inspiration for the classic Japanese manga lupin the 3rd

Incredible book!

Captivating, well written, genius of a book and brilliantly narrated.. Definitely recommend. Fell in love with the character Arsene Lupin.

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection.

Well narrated. These are some of my favorite Lupin stories; of which there are many more.
The tales are detailed and engaging.

simply enchanting

i was entertained from start to finish. at times it was a bit confussing who the narrator was, but through every story everyeverything made sense by the end

Bizarre narration

This production would have benefitted from having a producer. My listening experience was really spoilt by the seemingly random accents used by the narrator. All characters in the first two episodes had heavy 'French' accents but in later episodes some characters were assigned accents whilst others were not. Also some of the changes in Arsene Lupin 's accent were not supported by the narrative and, hence, confusing. I'll admit to now being rather wary of listening to anything else anything narrated by Mr Harrison.

Simply Brilliant

The reader describes the story in an excellent manner with the right voice and tone that describes each character really well in the story.
Especially the main character Arsene Lupin, shows charming wit and all, great voice actor to portray
Story direction was clear too so really good purchase :)

Amazing

Highly recommend. I enjoyed it so much and going to listen to all of them

Very Much Enjoyed My Ride With Lupin

I didn’t watch the Netflix series, at least not yet, as I really like to ‘read’ stories first before watching how someone turns them into a cinematic experience. This story did not disappoint, it felt like a great rollercoaster ride the whole way through so I’m now looking forward to watching it. Very enjoyable