La comtesse de Cagliostro

Par Maurice Leblanc

Une édition de référence de La comtesse de Cagliostro de Maurice Leblanc, spécialement conçue pour la lecture sur les supports numériques.
« – Mais ris donc, petite fille, s’écria-t-il. Tout cela est très drôle. Ris donc. Arsène Lupin ou Raoul d’Andrésy, qu’importe ! L’essentiel, c’est de réussir. Et je réussirai. Là-dessus, vois-tu, aucun doute. Pas une somnambule qui ne m’ait prédit un grand avenir et une réputation universelle. Raoul d’Andrésy sera général, ou ministre, ou ambassadeur... à moins que ce ne soit Arsène Lupin. C’est une chose réglée devant le destin, convenue, signée de part et d’autre. Je suis prêt. Muscles d’acier et cerveau numéro un ! Tiens, veux-tu que je marche sur les mains ? ou que je te porte à bout de bras ? Aimes-tu mieux que je prenne ta montre sans que tu t’en aperçoives ? ou bien que je te récite par cœur Homère en grec et Milton en anglais ? Mon Dieu, que la vie est belle ! Raoul d’Andrésy... Arsène Lupin... les deux faces de la statue ! Quelle est celle qu’illuminera la gloire, soleil des vivants ? » (Extrait du chapitre 1)

• Langue: Français
• Éditeur: Primento Digital
• Date de sortie: 1 janv. 2012
• ISBN: 9782806241924

Maurice Leblanc

Maurice Leblanc (1864-1941) was a French novelist and short story writer. Born and raised in Rouen, Normandy, Leblanc attended law school before dropping out to pursue a writing career in Paris. There, he made a name for himself as a leading author of crime fiction, publishing critically acclaimed stories and novels with moderate commercial success. On July 15th, 1905, Leblanc published a story in Je sais tout, a popular French magazine, featuring Arsène Lupin, gentleman thief. The character, inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, brought Leblanc both fame and fortune, featuring in 21 novels and short story collections and defining his career as one of the bestselling authors of the twentieth century. Appointed to the Légion d'Honneur, France’s highest order of merit, Leblanc and his works remain cultural touchstones for generations of devoted readers. His stories have inspired numerous adaptations, including Lupin, a smash-hit 2021 television series.

Avis sur La comtesse de Cagliostro

[antiquary_1 · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

The Arsene Lupin original story --Arsene is a strong young man of twenty, son of a "professor" of what we would call physical education who taught him boxing and fencing and a noble lady whose family cut her off for marrying beneath her. Arsene has fallen in love with a beautiful young woman, daughter of a very snobbish aristocratic count who is involved n a plot which includes kidnapping and potentially murdering a woman who claims to be the daughter of Cagliostro.

[vivl_6 · Évaluation : 2 sur 5 étoiles]

Well, that's it for me and Maurice Leblanc. I've had a go at two Arsène Lupin novels and they frankly annoy me. The French is not too difficult -- I don't get the sense that I'm missing much with the odd words/phrases I don't understand -- which is probably a plus, but the adventures/mysteries are kind of like late 19th century versions of the Da Vinci Code (or at least they accord to my understanding of that novel, given that I have never and will never read it) albeit written in the early to mid 20th century, with complicated and often silly puzzles involving the court of Napoleon, the hidden treasure of the French church etc, all linked together with fairly childish riddles. To top it all off, I can't STAND the character of Arsène Lupin, who is an arrogant twerp. His attitude to women makes me want to puke, he believes without doubt he is an incredible genius (and obviously highly virile as he made the poor little milk-sop girly who loved him pregnant on their first night and only night together)and he believes he has some sort of high level of morality despite being a thieving, conniving, con artist. All his "opponents" are given ludicrous flaws in order to allow him to lord it over them in the end. We are clearly supposed to think him a great rake and charming hell-raiser, but I just think he's an arsehole.

I say "Bof !" to you, Maurice Leblanc. May your prat of a character Arsène Lupin never again darken my door.