Fantômas

"Years after his first appearance, Fantômas is still scary." — The Washington Post
"A brilliant criminal … a great romp." — San Francisco Chronicle
A noblewoman is hacked to death in her chateau, a Russian princess is boldly robbed in a posh hotel, and a lord's lifeless body is found stuffed inside a trunk. Everyone recognizes the deeds of Fantômas, a master of disguise whose daring and diabolical crimes paralyze Parisians with terror. One man has sworn to bring the phantom killer to justice: Inspector Juve, who ventures from dark alleys to brilliant salons in his relentless pursuit of the evil genius.
The first in a series of wildly popular French thrillers, Fantômas created a sensation in pre-WWI Europe. The original pulp fiction, its appeal transcended every level of society. Cocteau, Colette, and Picasso were avid readers, and subsequent generations of artists, writers, and musicians have drawn inspiration from this enduringly stylish and suspenseful novel.

French authors Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914) created the Fantômas character in 1911, at the request of their publisher. The writing team collaborated on more than 30 Fantômas adventures, until Souvestre's death in 1914. Allain then continued the series alone, writing another 11 books featuring the arch-criminal.

Introduction to the Dover Edition
I. The Genius of Crime
II. A Tragic Dawn
III. The Hunt for the Man
IV. "No! I am not Mad!"
V. "Arrest Me!"
VI. "Fantômas, it is Death!"
VII. The Criminal Investigation Department
VIII. A Dreadful Confession
IX. All for Honour
X. Princess Sonia's Bath
XI. Magistrate and Detective
XII. A Knock-out Blow
XIII. Thérèse's Future
XIV. Mademoiselle Jeanne
XV. The Mad Woman's Plot
XVI. Among the Market Porters
XVII. At the Saint-Anthony's Pig
XVIII. A Prisoner and a Witness
XIX. Jérôme Fandor
XX. A Cup of Tea
XXI. Lord Beltham's Murderer
XXII. The Scrap of Paper
XXIII. The Wreck of the "Lancaster"
XXIV. Under Lock and Key
XXV. An Unexpected Accomplice
XXVI. A Mysterious Crime
XXVII. Three Surprising Incidents
XXVIII. The Court of Assize
XXIX. Verdict and Sentence
XXX. An Assignation
XXXI. Fell Treachery
XXXII. On the Scaffold