Arsène Lupin, The Gentleman Thief & Master of Disguise


I love a good binge just as much as the next person. I couldn’t wait to dive into the retelling of the classic gentlemen thief and master of disguise known as Arsène Lupin. I hosted an Instagram vote to see if I should review this series or not. The vote was a unanimous yes! So, I geared up with my snacks, blanket, and Apple Tv to abandon the world and indulge. 

Here’s a quick synopsis of the plot borrowed from Netflix, “Years after a tragic injustice, Arsène seeks to settle score and a debt by stealing a diamond necklace, but the heist takes an unexpected turn.” The show has everything that A Girl In A Museum World loves. (1) a strong black lead, (2) Art, (3) History, and surprisingly a successful museum heist. I love reading about a good museum heist. The boldness and audacity folks have to pursue a grand and successful scheme is impressive. Of course, if a museum that I worked for were ever the victim of such a crime, I would probably be dizzy from shock and sick to my stomach.

While watching, the museum professional in me couldn’t help herself. Some scenes made me shake my head due to the lack of documentation and paperwork. Any good Collections manager knows that documentation, backups, and paperwork is crucial. There were a few scenes where Lupin could have used a good Collections Manager on his team to prevent some mishaps.

I have a love/hate relationship with the show. I loved the strong black lead, but some of the commentaries were slightly offensive. I also loved the Paris setting; the camera angles captured the beautiful historic architecture. Some of the scenes were a little unrealistic due to the times we are in now, but it’s a tv show. We can only get so real. But really Netflix? A successful heist at the Louvre in 2021??.. I think not!

Overall, I enjoyed the show, and I’ll keep an eye out for Pt.2 which is scheduled to premiere this year. I also appreciated that the series is based on a book. This little fact made my senses tingle. I found some of the book series for free online. To find them, search “The Exploits of Arsène Lupin” in google books, and you will find them available to download as pdfs!

Here’s a little background on the book and author:

* Arsène Lupin is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc.
* The first story, "The Arrest of Arsène Lupin", was published on 15 July 1905.
* The short stories are collected in a total of 24 books. 


Thanks to those who voted on Instagram, and thanks for DM’ing me with your support and comments! Feel free to leave comments down below on the blog anytime! I get them all!


What should I watch next?


Leave a comment