Duke de Richleau
| Jean Armand Duplessis, the Duke de Richleau | |
|---|---|
The cover of the 1950 edition of The Second Seal, depicting the Duke de Richleau and his love interest, the archduchess Ilona Theresa. | |
| First appearance | The Forbidden Territory |
| Last appearance | Gateway to Hell |
| Created by | Dennis Wheatley |
| Portrayed by | Christopher Lee |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Occultist, adventurer, aristocrat |
| Nationality | Russian-French parentage, British resident |
The Duke de Richleau is a fictional character created by Dennis Wheatley who appeared in 11 novels published between 1933 and 1970.
Dennis Wheatley originally created the character for a murder mystery Three Inquisitive People, written and set in 1931 but which was not published until 1939. The character first appeared in the novel The Forbidden Territory (1933), along with his friends Simon Aron, Richard Eaton and Rex Van Ryn, whom Wheatley dubbed ‘the modern musketeers’. The friends were reunited in Wheatley’s best-selling novel of the occult The Devil Rides Out (1934).
His favoured form of transport is the powerful luxury vehicle the Hispano-Suiza.