Maurice-Marie-Émile Leblanc (Rouen, December 11, 1864-Perpignan, November 6, 1941), better known as Maurice Leblanc, was a French novelist and writer of short stories.

Born into a wealthy family, his father was a wealthy shipbuilder based in Rouen. After finishing his law studies, he dedicated himself to working in different industries in the region. After a time without applying much to industrial work, he moved to Paris, where he began his literary career, from approximately 1892 to 1904. He published about ten books, the first of them entitled: Des Couples (Couples).

In 1904 Pierre Laffite, director of Je sais Tout, commissioned him to write a story for his newly founded magazine. Maurice accepted the commission and soon presented him with an original entitled "The Arrest of Arsène Lupin". According to the author's own words, this was the only Lupine story he had planned. However, Pierre Laffite made a strong impression on the character and encouraged Leblanc to develop the character.

Thus, with forty years and a literary prestige earned by his previous works, he was born from the hand of Leblanc Arséne Lupin, a white-collar thief, whose work consists of almost 20 books.