Character guide

Arsène Lupin

major

Also known as Lupin, Maxime Bermond, Monsieur Lupin, Ars ├ иne Lupin

Lupin moves through Paris as a dozen different men, leaving mocking messages and sandwich-board challenges where a detective expects clues. What makes him irresistible is not the theft but the vanity of it: he wants Sholmes to know he was beaten by an intelligence, not a lucky break. His early provocations set the rules of the game the whole book plays by.

Herlock Sholmes

major

Also known as Sholmes, Monsieur Sholmes, the Englishman

Sholmes arrives in Paris expecting a vacation duel and instead finds his every move anticipated, his name on posters, his pride pricked like a needle. He is brilliant, vain, and honest enough to admit the fascination Lupin holds over him. His refusal to abandon a task — even when a stranger begs him to — drives the investigation forward and into the trap.

Wilson

supporting

Also known as Monsieur Wilson

Wilson follows Sholmes through Paris with the valises and the best intentions, dozing through deductions and lunging at the wrong moment. His broken arm becomes the accidental clue that cracks a case open, though he suffers for it. He matters because his bumbling humanity keeps the duel from becoming purely cerebral.

Ganimard

supporting

Also known as Monsieur Ganimard, Detective Ganimard, Old Ganimard, Madame Ganimard

Ganimard works the d'Hautrec murder scene with methodical questions, dismantling alibis while his colleagues chase theories. He lacks the flash of a Dupin, but his independence and intuition earn him a seat at the magistrate's table. His long fascination with Lupin gives the investigation a personal edge that the Englishman's cold reasoning lacks.

Clotilde Destange

supporting

Also known as Clotilde, Destange, Mademoiselle Destange

Clotilde moves through the case as a name on a jeweler's lips and a figure behind a heavy veil, resetting stones that were never hers to reset. Her link to Lupin is the kind of secret the book doles out slowly, one garnet at a time. She matters because she is the thread Sholmes pulls when every other lead goes dark.

Monsieur Gerbois

supporting

Also known as Gerbois, Mon . Gerbois, Mlle . Gerbois

Gerbois is the civilian at the edge of the game, a man whose luck — a ticket, a number, a small fortune — makes him suddenly interesting to people far more dangerous than himself. His ordinary life is the stake Lupin and Sholmes quietly wager over. He matters because the plot's first mystery is not a jewel or a murder but what happens to a nobody who wins.

Alice Demun

supporting

Also known as Mademoiselle Alice Demun, Alice, Mademoiselle

Alice Demun moves through the affair as a modest, unremarkable presence — until Herlock Sholmes notices her slipping out to a pharmacy, pausing to speak with a beggar, and carrying packages that might be messages rather than medicine. Her composure and her small, ordinary gestures are exactly what make her suspicious to a detective trained to read meaning into everything. Whether she is Lupin's unwitting instrument or a knowing accomplice, her movements give Sholmes his first real thread into the thief's network.

Suzanne Gerbois

minor

Also known as Suzanne, Gerbois

Daughter of Monsieur Gerbois, involved in the lottery affair.

Bresson

minor

Also known as Monsieur Bresson

Suspicious figure connected to the blue diamond theft.

Monsieur Detinan

minor

Also known as Detinan

Friend of Lupin who hosts a dinner party for the detective.

Madame de Crozon

minor

Also known as Madame de Réal, Countess de Crozon, Countess of Crozon

Aristocratic woman whose blue diamond is stolen.

Herschmann

minor

Also known as Monsieur Herschmann, Baron Herschmann

Banker involved in the Jewish lamp affair.

Folenfant

minor

Also known as Brigadier Folenfant

Police brigadier assisting Ganimard.

Charles

minor

Also known as Monsieur Charles

Servant or associate in Lupin's circle.

Antoinette Bréhat

minor

Also known as Mademoiselle Antoinette, Antoinette

Woman involved in Lupin's abduction plot.

Monsieur d'Imblevalle

minor

Also known as Mon . d'Imblevalle

Aristocrat whose home is targeted by Lupin.

Lady Strongborough

minor

Minor character mentioned in the story.

Monsieur Dudouis

minor

Also known as Mon . Dudouis, Dudouis

Police official involved in the Lupin investigation.

Davey

minor

Also known as Felix Davey

Alias used by Lupin during one of his schemes.

Henriette

minor

Also known as little Henriette

Young girl connected to the Destange household.

Sister Auguste

minor

Also known as the Sister Auguste, Sister

Nun who appears during the Jewish lamp episode.

Herr Bleichen

minor

Also known as the Consul Herr Bleichen

German consul involved in the Jewish lamp affair.

Count de Crozon

minor

Also known as the Count de Crozon

Husband of Madame de Crozon, involved in the diamond theft.

Baron d'Hautrec

minor

Also known as Monsieur d'Hautrec, Monsieur le Baron

Nobleman whose death is linked to the blue diamond.

Lucien Destange

minor

Relative of Clotilde Destange.

Philippe

minor

Also known as Monsieur Philippe

Minor character in Lupin's network.

Stickmann

minor

Also known as Monsieur Stickmann

German associate involved in the Jewish lamp.

Dieuzy

minor

Police officer assisting Ganimard.

Leroux

minor

Also known as the Messieurs Leroux

Minor characters mentioned in passing.

Bessy

minor

Also known as Monsieur Bessy

Minor acquaintance of Lupin.

Madame Bob-Walthour

minor

Minor character briefly mentioned.

Marie Walêwska

minor

Also known as Marie

Historical figure referenced in the narrative.

Henri-Martin

minor

Minor character referenced in the plot.