Other editions of book 813,

Framed for murder, Lupin must clear his name or face the gallows. Millionaire diamond collector Rudolf Kesselbach is in a Paris hotel room, contemplating the stroke of genius that is about to make him one of the wealthiest men in Europe, when a shadow steals into the room—a shadow with fine clothes, an easy smile, and a revolver pointed at Kesselbach’s chest. The intruder’s name, he says, is Arsène Lupin. A few hours later, Kesselbach is found dead on the floor, Lupin’s calling card pinned to his chest. With the police hot on his trail, the master jewel thief must use every ounce of his genius to escape their traps and find the man responsible for the murder. But as Lupin soon discovers, his freedom is not all that is at stake. The fate of Europe hangs in the balance as well. This ebook features a new introduction by Otto Penzler and has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

Mr. Kesselbach stopped short on the threshold of the sitting-room, took his secretary's arm and, in an anxious voice, whispered: "Chapman, some one has been here again." "Surely not, sir," protested the secretary. "You have just opened the hall-door yourself; and the key never left your pocket while we were lunching in the restaurant." "Chapman, some one has been here again," Mr. Kesselbach repeated. He pointed to a traveling-bag on the mantelpiece. "Look, I can prove it. That bag was shut. It is now open." Chapman protested. "Are you quite sure that you shut it, sir? Besides, the bag contains nothing but odds and ends of no value, articles of dress. . . ." "It contains nothing else, because I took my pocket-book out before we went down, by way of precaution. . . . But for that. . . . No, Chapman, I tell you, some one has been here while we were at lunch." There was a telephone on the wall. He took down the receiver: "Hallo! . . . I'm Mr. Kesselbach. . . . Suite 415 . . . That's right. . . . Mademoiselle, would you please put me on to the Prefecture of Police . . . the detective department. . . . I know the number . . . one second . . . Ah, here it is! Number 822.48. . . . I'll hold the line." A moment later he continued: "Are you 822.48? I should like a word with M. Lenormand, the chief of the detective-service. My name's Kesselbach. . . . Hullo! . . . Yes, the chief detective knows what it's about. He has given me leave to ring him up. . . . Oh, he's not there? . . . To whom am I speaking? . . . Detective-sergeant Gourel? . . . You were there yesterday, were you not, when I called on M. Lenormand? Well, the same thing that I told M. Lenormand yesterday has occurred again to-day. . . . Some one has entered the suite which I am occupying. And, if you come at once, you may be

This early work by Maurice Leblanc was originally published in 1910 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. Gentleman thief Arsène Lupin finds himself wrongfully accused of murder, and must find the real killer to clear his name. Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc was born on 11th November 1864 in Rouen, Normandy, France. He was a novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective, Arsène Lupin. Leblanc spent his early education at the Lycée Pierre Corneille (in Rouen), and after studying in several countries and dropping out of law school, he settled in Paris and began to write fiction. From the start, Leblanc wrote both short crime stories and longer novels - and his lengthier tomes, heavily influenced by writers such as Flaubert and Maupassant, were critically admired, but met with little commercial success. Leblanc was largely considered little more than a writer of short stories for various French periodicals when the first Arsène Lupin story appeared. It was published as a series of stories in the magazine 'Je Sais Trout', starting on 15th July, 1905. Clearly created at editorial request under the influence of, and in reaction to, the wildly successful Sherlock Holmes stories, the roguish and glamorous Lupin was a surprise success and Leblanc's fame and fortune beckoned. In total, Leblanc went on to write twenty-one Lupin novels or collections of short stories. On this success, he later moved to a beautiful country-side retreat in Étreat (in the Haute-Normandie region in north-western France), which today is a museum dedicated to the Arsène Lupin books. Leblanc was awarded the Légion d'Honneur - the highest decoration in France - for his services to literature. He died in Perpignan (the capital of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France) on 6th November 1941, at the age of seventy-six. He is buried in the prestigious Montparnasse Cemetery of Paris.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

If Britain has its Sherlock Holmes, France has its Arsene Lupin. This beloved character and counterpart of the most famous English detective tries to clear his name in “813” - one of the most thrilling detective and crime novels of the 20th century. Leblanc actually introduced Arsene Lupin to Sherlock Holmes in 1905. The British detective had grown old, and a younger detective had started to make a name for himself. However, contrary to Holmes, Arsene Lupin isn’t the straightforward and conventional detective. He is a thief as well as a master of disguise, qualities which manage to cause him trouble in 813. It appears that one of his thefts goes wrong, and he is blamed for a murder he didn’t commit. He tries to persuade the police to investigate his own case in order to find the real killer and clear his name. Lupin starts to follow the encryption 803 and Apo on which seem to be very important for Germany as well as France. He will eventually need to find out what 813 means on an old clock as well as find a letter written to none other than Bismarck himself. Leblanc masterfully creates an enticing and thrilling action novel in which crimes, suicide as well as mystery clues don’t seem to end. Lupin does everything in his power to clear his name and find the evil murdered, and in the end he also manages to blackmail the royal families of France and England and get his way. While not the charming and witty detective Sherlock Holmes, Arsene Lupin is surely as interesting and mysterious. This detective/thief will keep readers on the edge of their seats and give them all clues to uncover the mystery related to 813.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ <title> 813<author> Maurice Leblanc<translated by> Alexander Teixeira de Mattos<publisher> Hurst & company, 1910

THE TRAGEDY AT THE PALACE HOTEL Mr. Kesselbach stopped short on the threshold of the sitting-room, took his secretary’s arm and, in an anxious voice, whispered: "Chapman, some one has been here again." "Surely not, sir," protested the secretary. "You have just opened the hall-door yourself; and the key never left your pocket while we were lunching in the restaurant." "Chapman, some one has been here again," Mr. Kesselbach repeated. He pointed to a traveling-bag on the mantelpiece. "Look, I can prove it. That bag was shut. It is now open

"813" is gentleman thief Arsène Lupin´s greatest adventure and it is also considered Maurice Leblanc´s masterpiece. As usual, Lupin finds himself wrongfully accused of murder. When one of his victims is found dead in a way that implicates the wily criminal, he insists on heading the police search for the real murderer. The mystery involves finding a package of letters once written to Bismarck, locating a clock on which the number 813 has significance, as well as causing a reigning emperor to make several journeys incognito. Murders by the dozens, suicide and mild forms of torture are warp and woof of the plot.