Fantômas Captured

Fantômas #35

by Marcel Allain, Alfred Richard Allinson (Translator)

Fantômas extorts powerful politicians and financiers as part of a plot to rob the Crédit International bank and get rid of Inspector Juve once and for all. When the great detective falls into the macabre snares of the Lord of Terror, the journalist Jerome Fandor in his desperation must seek the help of Lady Beltham, the wayward lover of Fantômas, to save his beloved friend in this, the thirty-fifth book of the series.

333 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1926

About the author

Marcel Allain (1885-1970) was a French writer mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Pierre Souvestre of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas.

The son of a Parisian bourgeois family, Allain studied law before becoming a journalist. He then became the assistant of Souvestre, who was already a well-known figure in literary circles. In 1909, the two men published their first novel, Le Rour. Investigating Magistrate Germain Fuselier, later to become a recurring character in the Fantômas series, appears in the novel.

Then, in February 1911, Allain and Souvestre embarked upon the Fantômas book series at the request of publisher Arthème Fayard, who wanted to create a new monthly pulp magazine. The success was immediate and lasting.

After Souvestre’s death in February 1914, Allain continued the Fantômas saga alone, then launched several other series, such as Tigris, Fatala, Miss Téria and Férocias, but none garnered the same popularity as Fantômas.