Norbert Jacques

Biography

Norbert Jacques (1880–1954) was a Luxembourgish-German novelist and travel writer best known as the creator of Dr. Mabuse, one of the most iconic villains in the history of cinema and popular fiction. Born in Luxembourg, Jacques studied in Germany and became a prolific journalist and travel writer, publishing accounts of his journeys through South America, Asia, and the Pacific. His travel writings were well-regarded, but it was his crime novel Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler, 1921) that brought him lasting fame. The novel introduced the criminal mastermind Dr. Mabuse, a figure of genius-level intellect who uses hypnosis, disguise, and psychological manipulation to control Berlin’s underworld and financial markets. Fritz Lang’s film adaptation (1922) became a landmark of German Expressionist cinema and launched a franchise that Lang continued with The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) and The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960). Jacques wrote a sequel novel, Dr. Mabuse’s Colony, but it is the original Dr. Mabuse that secured his place in cultural history.