Arsenio Lupine The secret of the spire review: the gentleman thief returns to the library

Arsenio Lupine The secret of the spire review

While it is true that Netflix recently made available the second part of the successful series dedicated to Lupine starring an excellent Omar Sy, publisher Salani is making its presence felt again with a new publication dedicated to this timeless character. A few months after the success in the bookstore of Arsenio Lupine - Ladro Gentiluomo, Magazzini Salani now publishes Arsenio Lupine - The secret of the spire, the second volume of the saga that changed the life of Assane in Lupine on Netflix, in the same special edition. within the TV series, with the original text by Maurice Leblanc, in full version and with a new translation. There are some distinctions from the first volume, especially from the point of view of the contents, in addition to the fact that this part of the story has very little to do with the story told on the screens thanks to the original production of the streaming giant. Available from last June 17th in bookstores, we tell you what awaits us in this new collector's edition.

Arsenio Lupine The secret of the spire, a new edition for an unmissable classic

Let's start with the actual content of the novel: the plot tells of a drama at the castle of the Count de Gesvres. A stranger, spotted during the night inside the property, is surprised by a shot from a rifle. Shortly after, the noble's niece is missing; therefore the doubt arises that Arsenio Lupine may have hit again, but this time we also see a female figure of no small importance take the field. It is Isidore Beautrelet, a brilliant student and aspiring detective, who decides to share the information in her possession with the police and set out on the trail of the most cunning outlaw of all time. The clues lead the investigation to the riddle of the empty spire, an ancient secret that hides priceless treasures, of which only the kings of France seem to be aware. The famous spire of Etretat, in Normandy, hides the most fabulous treasure imaginable: pearls, rubies, sapphires and diamonds and more. A decidedly greedy booty for a thief of the caliber of Arsenio Lupine. The latter therefore simulates his own death and precisely together with Count Gesvres's niece sets out on the trail of the secret of the spire.

When Isidore Beautrelet discovers the Château de l'Aiguille near Crozant, on the banks of the Creuse, he thinks he has found the solution to the riddle. But what he does not know yet is that King Louis XIV of France had the castle built to confuse the true traces, which actually lead to another type of "needle" in Normandy, near Le Havre, where Lupine, known here even like Louis Valméras, he went into hiding…

Similarities and differences between series and novels

This story, in some way, at least in this sort of encounter-clash between Isidore and Lupine, recalls what we saw in the five episodes of the second part of the series of the same name on Netflix, where Assane had formed a sort of partnership with Pellegrini's daughter, but clearly the events narrated here have another flavor and another purpose.

The original version of this novel was in fact published for the first time in a magazine, the Je sais tout, from November 15, 1908 to May 15, 1909, and only after some adaptation, the story took on the appearance of a novel in the 1909. The story is set in Ambrumésy e in other French cities, again at the beginning of the twentieth century, and in the original version (L’aiguille creuse), however, reference is made to a secret that specifically concerns Queen Marie Antoinette and Cagliostro. The mystery of the hollow needle contains a secret that the kings of France passed on and of which Arsenius Lupine appropriated: it is a famous "needle" that contains the most fabulous treasure ever imagined.

Looking now at the differences merely related to how the volume Arsenio Lupine The Secret of the Spire presents itself, the differences with the previous publication are not too many, on the contrary. The faux leather cover was graphically conceived in an identical way to the first volume of Magazzini Salani, with the same decorations and the portrait of Lupine in the center, presenting only a variation of colors compared to the previous book. If "a book is not judged by the cover", even the inside has the same characteristics in the print, from the size of the characters to the graphic elements that introduce the various chapters, in perfect logic of très d'union characterizing this series of novels specially launched to allow the public to (re) discover the beauty of these masterpieces.

The only difference, however, with Arsenio Lupine Ladro Gentiluomo is the absence, in this second volume, of the insert dedicated to some of the images taken from the series Netflix, as had happened in the first novel. Finally, for the most attentive readers to respect for the environment, we would also like to underline that in this second volume it was specified that the pages were printed in a carbon-free company, a truly excellent and eco-sustainable choice, still appreciable more if we consider that it is a pure marketing operation to try to ride the wave of success of the Netflix series and try to relaunch a literary saga that has remained rather in the shadows for the contemporary audience. What awaits us a third volume, if a relative third part of the serial product with Omar Sy is also produced? We just have to wait and watch the next moves of the gentleman thief. There are certainly many stories to tell, at least in the recovery of the novels.