MAURICE LEBLANC (1864–1941) was born in Rouen, France. Author of numerous novels, he is best remembered now for his short stories and novels featuring the brilliant gentleman-thief, Arsène Lupin. There were five collections of Lupin stories: Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar (1906), Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes (1908), The Confessions of Arsène Lupin (1912), The Eight Strokes of the Clock (1922), and Arsène Lupin Intervenes (1928).