The Blonde Lady, being a record of the duel of wits between Arsène Lupin and th…

In "The Blonde Lady, being a record of the duel of wits between Arsène Lupin and the English detective" - original title "Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmes" - the gentleman-burglar once more meets his enemy, the English detective Herlock Sholmes. If in the last story of "Arsène Lupin, gentleman-burglar" Sherlock Holmes arrives too late (the name was at a later date changed to Herlock Sholmes in reply to complaints and threats by Conan Doyle regarding copyrights), in the two stories that compose "The Blonde Lady" these two great intellects are bound in opposite directions. Where one chooses to abide to the law, the other uses his power and wits to crime - and who is going to win?

These two stories appeared in chapters and as separate pieces in the magazine Je Sais Tout, during the years of 1906 and 1907, and were published together as a book first in 1908, being the second of the books where Arsène Lupin, the kind-hearted and humorous thief, is the main character.
(Summary by Leni) (6 hr 43 min)

Chapters

1 - Number 514, Series 53	55:17	Read by Leni
2 - The Blue Diamond	48:37	Read by Leni
3 - Holmlock Shears Opens Hostilities	44:23	Read by Leni
4 - A Glimmer in the Darkness	41:16	Read by Leni
5 - Kidnapped	49:09	Read by Leni
6 - The Second Arrest of Arsene Lupin	48:20	Read by Leni
7 - The Jewish Lamp, part 1	34:27	Read by Leni
8 - The Jewish Lamp, part 2	34:12	Read by Leni
9 - The Jewish Lamp, part 3	48:18	Read by Leni

Reviews

cheap copycat of holmes

(3 stars)

Bobocel

it's no wonder ACD complained about copywriter infringement. Maurice Leblanc is an entertaining writer but he comes nowhere close to the great creator of Sherlock Holmes. this french version of Holmes makes Watson look like an idiotic lapdog and Holmes is a worse buffoon than lestrade ever was. I enjoy the adventures of Lupin when he is left to his own devices. I wish Leblanc had left Holmes in England. on a more positive note, the reader does a very good job. there are only a few mispronounced words.

so-so

(2 stars)

donald m.

There are impediments to enjoyment, the translation is at times stilted, the turn of the century antihero in France is culturally minimally sympathetic, the need for the author to have a solution for every outcome to favor his protagonist, and when the last chapter has a choice between a comeuppance for Holmes and divulging a little truth to save marital discord, Lupin decides on the former. It makes me appreciate how timeless the original Sherlock Holmes was written!

Brilliant

(5 stars)

Priyanka

It's a great duel between two equal adverseries a fine piece of writing. It should be made in to a movie. Bravo..

Terrific Adventure

(5 stars)

Angels Walk

Our Delightful Hero is his most magnificent self in these stories, well read by the LibriVox Volunteer, Leni.

(4 stars)

Lori K

Much better than 813. Here Holmes seemed almost like himself & Lupin shows he can be bad & good.

Enjoyable