Advanced French: La Lettre d'Amour du Roi George (Arsène Lupin)

This book contains the complete story ‘La Lettre d’Amour du Roi George’ by Maurice Leblanc.

The text is divided into 13 small sections, each followed by five reading comprehension questions and a blank list for vocabulary, to be filled in by the student (instructions included). The lists are multicoloured for variety.

This is one of many tales by Leblanc featuring the same protagonist, a gentleman-thief by the name of Arsène Lupin, here disguised as ‘Jim Barnett’. He is remarkable for his ability to glean a fortune from wealthy (and usually greedy and unpleasant) people through the clever manipulation of events which are already in motion when he arrives on the scene. His success depends on his intelligence and his prowess as a thief and master of disguise, which allow him to avoid violence or guilt of crime in his adventures. Adding to the fun, he consistently outwits whatever official inspector (here, inspector ‘Béchoux’) he is supposedly helping.

The story is narrated in the passé simple, making it an excellent tool for practising this French verb tense. All advanced French students will benefit from reading Leblanc’s well-written prose!