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GREAT DETECTIVES & PEOPLE OF MYSTERY #15 DR. MABUSE This fictional character was created by Norbert Jacques in the 1921 novel "Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler". Jacques (1880-1954) was a novelist from Luxembourg who became a German citizen in 1922. He created the character in the fashion of Fantomas and Dr. Fu Manchu but with the goal of commercial success and political commentary. Mabuse was a master of disguise and telepathic hypnosis, employing body transference like demonic possession, and sometimes utilized technologies like television and phonograph machines. He built a "society of crime". He would rarely commit crimes himself, instead operating through a network of agents who would enact his schemes. Mabuse's agents range from career criminals to innocent citizens who are blackmailed or hypnotized into cooperation, or dupes who are manipulated so successfully that they do not realize they are doing Mabuse's bidding. His identity often ...