Movies, Tv shows, songs and tributes of all kinds: for more than a century the character of Arsene Lupin has probably been and unlimited source of inspiration for many artists. The magnificence of Etretat, its cliffs, its arch and its famous 70 meters high needle also inspired many famous painters and writers such as Courbet, Monet, Flaubert and Maupassant. Maurice Leblanc, who lived in the town of Etretat for nearly twenty years, helped reinforce the myth of this extraordinary site by choosing the region of Normandy as part of most of the adventures of the burglar gentleman.

Where does this atypical, yet insanely popular character come from? We will discover the ambivalent relationship that united the writer Maurice Leblanc and the hero he created: the favorite character of many, but unfortunately enclosing the author in a literary straightjacket.