Ebook The Amateur Cracksman, by Ernest William Hornung
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The Amateur Cracksman, by Ernest William Hornung
Ebook The Amateur Cracksman, by Ernest William Hornung
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This early work by Ernest William Hornung was originally published in 1899 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Amateur Cracksman' is the first collection of short stories featuring the charming A. J. Raffles. Arthur Raffles is a prominent member of London society, and a national sporting hero. As a cricketer he regularly represents England in Test matches. He uses this as a chance to commit a number of burglaries, primarily stealing valuable jewellery from his hosts. In this he is assisted by his friend, the younger, idealistic Bunny Manders. Both men are constantly under the surveillance of Inspector Mackenzie of Scotland Yard who is always thwarted in his attempts to pin the crimes on Raffles. Ernest William Hornung was born in Middlesbrough, England in 1866. After working briefly as a journalist, and publishing a series of poems in The Times, Hornung created the character for which he is best-remembered: A. J. Raffles, a “gentleman thief” plying his trade in Victorian London.
- Published on: 2015-01-08
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.50" h x .56" w x 5.50" l, .64 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 222 pages
About the Author
Ernest William Hornung (7 June 1866 – 22 March 1921) was an English author.
Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
A great classic!
By Amazon Customer
A great book that's very well written, The Amateur Cracksman is a must read classic. Though it lacks moral value (A. J. Raffles steals mostly just for kicks) it has what most great classics lack, a good sense of humor. It's about Bunny, a broke journalist on the verge of comitting suicide, who seeks help from from his best friend from school. Before he realises it, he has just become the loyal side-kick of one of England's greatest thieves. As Raffles is one of the best cricket players in England, he gets invited (along with the ever-faithful Bunny) to the houses of the rich and famous of England. At night, he robs them blind. Marvelously written, its set in the Victorian period. It's packed with action and adventure, and a lot of cynnical jokes. A great introduction to classics, it is a more relaxed story than most books of it's era. Though A. J. Raffles and Bunny are not exactly great role-models for young readers, their almost devious acts are ammended by their courageous acts on the battle field. I definitely recommend reading the Amateur Cracksman!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Raffles is No Holmes
By Douglas S. Wood
Around 1900, E.W. Hornung's Raffles stories were hugely popular in England. Raffles was an English gentleman who was also an amateur safe-cracker and all-around burglar with the aid of his somewhat reluctant junior partner "Bunny".
Raffles and Bunny have been compared to Holmes and Watson and for good reason. Hornung's sister was married to Arthur Conan Doyle and acknowledged his debt to his better-known in-law. Taking the role of Watson, Bunny authored the recollections of Raffles' criminal exploits (necessarily published after-the-fact, however). Whereas Bunny clung (somewhat unsuccessfully) to Victorian morality, Raffles' genius could be not be bounded by mere social custom. Raffles, however, was not evil; he just enjoyed high living and supporting that life style by stealing jewels from indolent rich people struck him as entirely reasonable.
Raffles, by the way, was gentleman by merit, that is, he was a world class cricket player, but did not have the family background or personal wealth to be otherwise qualified as a gentleman. At the time, this manner of entering the British elite was quite new. Only twenty years earlier, being a well-known athlete would scarcely have opened the doors to the social elite. Indeed, merely having money would not have pried open the doors either. The doors opened to such parvenus only in the aftermath of the agricultural depression that devastated the economic power of the land-based aristocracy (followed shortly by declines in their social and political power). See the excellent history The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy by David Cannadine.
Like Doyle with Holmes, Hornung tried to kill off Raffles only to bring him back in response to popular demand. Unlike Holmes, the Raffles stories quickly faded from prominence. This decline in popularity may have been partially due to lingering Victorian unease with the antihero. In my mind it was also at least partially due to the fact that the stories, while quite entertaining, are not as good as the Holmes tales. Recommended.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Great fun, great in-joke.
By A Customer
This entertaining book is almost forgotten now, but during the first part of the century is was one of the favorite books of every teenage boy in the English-speaking world. They loved to read about Raffles, the upper-class and charming Amateur Cracksman (thief) and his adventures.
Raffles himself is indeed great fun, I love the idea of an upper-class young Englishman who takes to crime rather than get a job, which after all would interfere with his high society life and amateur cricket career. The book is a series of related stories, each slyly witty and subversive, each a clever detective story in reverse.
The reason they were indeed detective stories in reverse is simple: E.W. Hornung was the brother-in-law of Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Hornung wrote these stories partly as a satire on Holmes (and Watson, his narrator "Bunny" is a rock-stupid, dead-on parody), and partly just to annoy. It worked, Conan Doyle worried about this book's effect on the public morals!
Now, who wouldn't enjoy a book written to annoy a self-righteous in-law? Especially if the book is actually good? (The book was later made into a weak film starring David Niven, and inspired "To Catch a Thief")
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