One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared in a total of 32 volumes written by the two collaborators, then a subsequent 11 volumes written by Allain alone after Souvestre's death. The character was also the basis of various film, television, and comic book adaptations. In the history of crime fiction, he represents a transition from Gothic novel villains of the 1800s to modern-day serial killers.
A French writer mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Pierre Souvestre of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas.
Contents
Fantômas (1915)
The Exploits of Juve (1917)
Messengers of Evil or The Vengeance of Fantomas (1917)
A Nest of Spies (1917)
A Royal Prisoner (1918)
Fantômas (1915)
The Adventures of Detective Juve in pursuit of a master in crime. Translated from the original French by Cranstoun Metcalfe.
The Exploits of Juve (1917)
In this continuation Fantômas appears as the leader of a gang of Apaches, and as a physician of standing. Juve tracks the criminal to his secret hiding-place, but Fantômas escapes.
A Nest of Spies (1917)
Fantômas now appears as the representative in Paris of a Foreign Government whose real business is to obtain important military secrets for Germany. Juve succeeds in defeating his efforts, but the criminal himself escapes once more.
A Royal Prisoner (1918)
This volume tells of the daring exploits of Fantômas in his attempts to get possession of the King of Hesse-Weimar's famous diamond.