Josy’s Little Library: Arsène Lupin, the French Herlock Sholmès

This whole website was inspired by a simple idea: create a collection of books for my bilingual, French-American daughter that would allow her the best of both literary worlds. Blog posts labeled “Josy’s Little Library” are discussions of English and French books that are on Josy’s ever-expanding bedroom bookshelf.

Some are for now, some for later; some are new purchases to keep up with the times, others have been dug out of my own dusty childhood collection, passed down from our ancestors, or found in second-hand bookshops across the world. Still others come from libraries in both the US and France.

French books will be labelled with a French level, age level in terms of content, lexical categories that can be expanded by reading the book, and if the books have been translated into English for anyone interested in adding French literature to their own collection! And for our French audience, the same for the English ones. Don’t hesitate to contact us with your own recommendations or your own work!

I had vaguely heard of Arsène Lupin in the past, but like many in 2021, became interested in reading the books because of the TV series with Omar Sy that came out on Netflix. I immediately formulated the popular opinion that Lupin is the French Sherlock Holmes (but the criminal and not the detective), but the further I got into the books, the more I appreciated the Gentleman Thief (or Burglar) in his own right.

I like how the story moves along quickly and efficiently in an enthusiastic (sometimes ironic) tone, so it’s difficult to put down.. and relatively clear for a non-native French-speaker. Because I love history and old-fashioned worlds, I appreciated learning French vocabulary from the early 20th century (“le télégraphe sans fil” isn’t needed in our lexicon today but isn’t it nice to know?).

Of course, delving into that past is also a lesson on the racism, classism and sexism that existed at the time, which the Netflix series addresses directly, and which I’ll be ready to discuss with Josy if she does appreciate the detective side of these many stories! In fact, author Maurice Leblanc wrote over 20 stories about Lupin in various forms, and they are available in English. He even wrote Arsène Lupin vs. Herlock Sholmès, which I have yet to add to the collection... maybe the two geniuses are indeed as intertwined as popular opinion says!

French level: Intermediate/B2+

Age level: 14+

Lexical fields: Transportation (boat, train), jewels, police/crime & punishment/prison, rooms, titles (baron, marquis, etc.), geography, weapons, clothes

Translated into English: Yes

Did you read the book or see the Netflix series? Don't hesitate to discuss in the comments!

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