Rocambole

Origin
Rocambole is an adventurer and crime fighter who started out on the wrong side of the law. An orphan, Rocambole was adopted by the wily crone, Maman Fipart. As a young man, he used his resourcefulness to assist the evil Andrea de Felipone (a.k.a. Sir Williams) in his fight against Andrea's half-brother, the Comte de Kergaz. Louise Charmet, a.k.a. Baccarat, is a courtesan with a heart of gold and a fearless temper who finds himself at odds with Rocambole and Sir Williams.

Rocambole eventually takes over and kills Sir Williams, but his evil schemes are again thwarted by Baccarat, and he ends up imprisoned in the hard labor camp of Toulon (the same where Jean Valjean was imprisoned in Les Misérables.)

After escaping from Toulon, Rocambole redeems himself and finds a new calling as a true hero. He travels to India and masters the mystic skills of the East. After gathering a team of loyal and talented assistants, Rocambole becomes something of a mastermind, operating from the shadows and pulling strings from behind the scenes.

Public Domain Literary Appearances

 * Les Drames de Paris (1857) (aka L’Héritage Mystérieux)
 * Le Club des Valets de Coeur (1858)
 * Les Exploits de Rocambole (1858–59)
 * Les Chevaliers du Clair de Lune (1860–62)
 * La Résurrection de Rocambole (1865–66) (this novel rewrites and supersedes 4 above)
 * Le Dernier Mot de Rocambole (1866–67)
 * Les Misères de Londres (1867–68)
 * Les Démolitions de Paris (1869)
 * La Corde du Pendu (1870, never completed)

by Contant Gueroult:
 * Le Retour et la Fin de Rocambole (1875)
 * Les Nouveaux Exploits de Rocambole (1880)

by Jules Cardoze:
 * Les Bâtards de Rocambole (1886)

by Leite Bastos:
 * As Maravilhas do Homem Pardo (188?) (Portuguese-language sequel to La Corde du Pendu.)

by Frédéric Valade:
 * Le Petit-Fils de Rocambole (1922)
 * La Haine immortelle (1922)