I found this fair-condition softcover at the Used Book Superstore in Burlington MA. It's a reprint of the 1915 translation of the original 1911 French novel, and looks rather fun. [There have been several film adapations, including a 1964 film that's something of a parody of the source material.]

In some ways this reminded me of the wacky Harry Stephen Keeler, though this is a wee bit more coherent even if the plots themselves are as far-fetched. After the third or fourth reveal of someone having been Fantomas in disguise (or one of the good guys in disguise - seriously, everyone in this story seems to spend half their time pretending to be someone else), I pretty much gave up assuming that *any* of the characters were new and/or innocent - but it was still a lot of fun.

The story does take a while to really get going, but once it kicks in it moves right along. By the ending, we've discovered just how devious, heartless, and often just plain lucky Fantomas is - and if you were imagining him as a kind of rogue-with-a-heart-of-gold, just count the number of innocents he puts in harm's way for his own ends. His last escape features one of the most cold-blooded and cruel ruses I've encountered in fiction. He's really, really impressive that way; not nice, but impressive!

[There's a TV Tropes page on the novels and some of the adaptations.]

I plan to leave this book, bagged against the elements, on a stone wall overlooking the old school building; hope the finder enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]

*** Released for the 2017 One Word Title release challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2017 Movie release challenge. ***