Learn French with Arsène Lupin
One book per level, one chapter per lesson. You follow the gentleman thief through his cases, and every page teaches the grammar it happens to use.
The story first. The grammar comes out of it.
Every lesson is one short piece of a real Lupin story, retold at your level. The grammar point is not invented on the side: it is the one the chapter you just read leans on.
- 1ReadA short chapter in French. Tap any paragraph for the English.
- 2NoticeThree sentences from the story, one question. Then the rule.
- 3PractiseExercises built from the same chapter, checked as you go.
- 4Meet LeblancA line of the 1907 original, so you can see where you are heading.
One book per level.
Six cases.
L’Arrestation d’Arsène Lupin
A transatlantic liner, a wireless telegram, a thief on board and nobody knows which passenger he is. The first Lupin story ever published (1905), retold for complete beginners.
- 01 A big ship Un grand bateau Être (to be). Un, une, le, la
- 02 The passengers Les passagers Agreement: feminine and plural. Les and des
- 03 A message from the sky Un message dans le ciel Avoir (to have). Il y a (there is, there are)
- 04 The telegram Le télégramme The body and colours. Where the adjective goes
- 05 Who is Arsène Lupin? Qui est Arsène Lupin ? -er verbs in the present tense
- R Review 1: lessons 1 to 5 Révision 1 : leçons 1 à 5 Review unit
- 06 Miss Nelly Miss Nelly À Paris, en France, aux États-Unis: places
- 07 On deck Sur le pont Saying no: ne… pas, ne… rien, ne… jamais
- 08 The investigation L’enquête Asking questions
- 09 Thirteen Mr Rs Treize messieurs R Numbers 0 to 69. Il y a and seulement
- 10 Monsieur Rozaine Monsieur Rozaine Possessives: mon, ma, mes, son, sa, ses
- R Review 2: lessons 6 to 10 Révision 2 : leçons 6 à 10 Review unit
- 11 The left arm Le bras gauche Ce, cet, cette, ces (this, that). Left and right
- 12 Lady Jerland’s jewels Les bijoux de lady Jerland Du, de la, des (some) and pas de (no). The pronoun on
- 13 Rozaine is free Rozaine est libre Aller (to go), the near future, and au, à la, aux
- 14 Ten thousand francs Dix mille francs Big numbers. Faire (to do, to make) and prendre (to take)
- 15 My camera Mon kodak Pouvoir, vouloir, devoir (can, want, must) + infinitive
- R Review 3: lessons 11 to 15 Révision 3 : leçons 11 à 15 Review unit
- 16 The captain’s watch La montre du commandant De and à + the article: du, des, au, aux
- 17 A night on deck Une nuit sur le pont Reflexive verbs: se lever, s’appeler
- 18 Everybody is scared Tout le monde a peur Expressions with avoir. Tout, toute, tous, toutes
- 19 New York! New York ! Venir and venir de. Adjectives before the noun
- 20 Arsène Lupin, I presume? Arsène Lupin, n’est-ce pas ? Stressed pronouns: moi, toi, lui… C’est moi
- R Review 4: lessons 16 to 20 Révision 4 : leçons 16 à 20 Review unit
Arsène Lupin was created by Maurice Leblanc, who died in 1941. His novels are in the public domain, and the quotations on this site come from the original French editions. The lessons, adaptations, translations and exercises are original work. This site is not connected with the Netflix series Lupin, its producers, or the Leblanc estate.