A Royal Prisoner

The daring exploits of Fant�mas in his attempts to get possession of the King of Hesse-Weimar's famous diamond.Marcel Allain (1885-1970) was a French writer mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Pierre Souvestre of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fant�mas. The son of a Parisian bourgeois family, Allain studied law before becoming a journalist. He then became the assistant of Souvestre, who was already a well-known figure in literary circles. In 1909, the two men published their first novel, Le Rour. Investigating Magistrate Germain Fuselier, later to become a recurring character in the Fant�mas series, appears in the novel. Then, in February 1911, Allain and Souvestre embarked upon the Fant�mas book series at the request of publisher Arth�me Fayard, who wanted to create a new monthly pulp magazine. The success was immediate and lasting. After Souvestre's death in February 1914, Allain continued the Fant�mas saga alone, then launched several other series, such as Tigris, Fatala, Miss T�ria and F�rocias, but none garnered the same popularity as Fant�mas. In 1926, Allain married Souvestre's girl-friend, Henriette Kistler. In total, Allain wrote more than 400 novels in his prolific career.