%0 Journal Article
%T Crime Fiction at the Time of the Exhibition: the Case of Sherlock Holmes and Ars¨¨ne Lupin
%A David Drake
%J Synergies Royaume-Uni et Irlande
%D 2009
%I GERFLINT
%X In July 1905, the new monthly Je sais tout (I Know Everything ) carried the first short story, written by Maurice Leblanc, featuring the gentlemanburglar Ars¨¨ne Lupin. Lupin¡¯s appearance and early adventures coincided with the huge popularity which Sherlock Holmes, already the most popular figure in detective fiction across the Channel, was enjoying in France. This accompanied the publication in French in the early years of the century of many of the Holmes stories. In the tale, ¡®Sherlock Holmes arrive trop tard¡¯ (¡®Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late¡¯) published in Je sais tout in June 1906, Leblanc staged an initial encounter between Lupin and Sherlock Holmes. Holmes, now called Herlock Sholm¨¨s after threats from Conan Doyle¡¯s lawyers, again clashed with Lupin in two tales which appeared in Je sais tout in 1907/1908, and were published in February 1908 as a book entitled Ars¨¨ne Lupin contre Herlock Sholm¨¨s. (Ars¨¨ne Lupin contre Herlock Sholm¨¨s). The two men confronted each other once more in L¡¯Aiguille creuse (The Hollow Needle), serialised in Je sais tout between 1908-1909 and published in book form in June 1909.This article analyses the reasons for the huge popularity of the Holmes stories in Britain and shows how Holmes and Conan Doyle were used to promote Lupin and his creator in France. It then argues that the encounters conceived by Leblanc are part of a preestablished tradition of cross-referencing in crime writing. It concludes by suggesting that Holmes, the English consulting detective, and Lupin, the French gentleman-burglar, have more in common than might be thought.
%K Sherlock Holmes
%K Ars¨¨ne Lupin
%K Arthur Conan Doyle
%K Maurice Leblanc
%K Je sais tout
%K the Strand Magazine
%U http://ressources-cla.univ-fcomte.fr/gerflint/RU-Irlande2/drake.pdf