This Fantomas tale, originally published in France in 1911, is notable for its decidedly more political subtext, dealing as it does with spying and the theft of military secrets. Knowing in hindsight that WWI was only three years off only heightens the urgent relevance of the political tensions underlying the story. In this already charged climate it makes sense that Allain and Souvestre put their evil genius Fantomas in the service of the Kaiser's Germany, a nation feared and hated in France since the depredations and humiliation of the Franco-Prussian war of the 1870s. Of course we have the usual ingenious subterfuges, impersonations, and murders that always surround the masked villain, and they work very well in this new spy thriller context. I am increasingly impressed with the authors' ingenuity in devising complicated and compelling plots at unbelievable speed; these novels were originally issued only a month or two apart, and their story lines are impressive in their complexity and interconnectedness. The two collaborators must have kept flow charts to keep all the characters and their complicated histories straight! The Fantomas series remains a great entertainment for lovers of pulp fiction and literary villainy.The fourth book in the classic series featuring the Parisian master criminal! This novel was originally published in France in 1911, then translated and published in the US in 1917. Pierre Souvestre was a French lawyer, journalist, writer and organizer of motor races. He is mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Marcel Allain of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantomas. He was born in Plomelin, a commune in Finistere, Brittany.. In 1909, already a well-known figure in literary circles, Souvestre collaborated with his assistant Allain on their first novel, Le Rour. Investigating Magistrate Germain Fuselier, later to become a recurring character in the Fantomas series, appears in the novel. Then, in February 1911, Allain and Souvestre embarked upon the Fantomas book series at the request of publisher Artheme Fayard, who wanted to create a new monthly pulp magazine. The success was immediate and lasting."