Welcome to the new home of the comprehensive guide to E.W. Hornung's A.J. Raffles, the stories, characters, and other noteworthy minutiae.
| Introduction |
For Raffles was outside the law. Although he lived the public life of a respectable English gentleman and amateur cricketer, he owed his wealth and life of leisure to his nocturnal game—that as a "cracksman," or thief.
His right-hand man is none other than Harry "Bunny" Manders, his fag from his schoolboy days. Yes, I said fag. For in the good old days, the British public school system allowed older boys to take younger boys as their personal servants. Equally, yes, I said his friend's name was Bunny. For that is the only name Raffles ever calls him by (unless it's "my dear chap," "my good rabbit" or "my dear boy").
When we first meet Raffles, his dear old fag Bunny has put himself in a disgraceful position. He has squandered his family's inheritance living his own life of gentlemanly luxury and gambling. Seeking help from his old school-mate, Bunny's suicidal hand is stayed by Raffles who then proceeds to seduce him into a life of crime.
Who are all these characters? What's so interesting about this Raffles person? Why's his companion called Bunny? And where can I go for even more Raffles! All the basics will be covered here along with reviews, criticisms and more.
Unlike his sleuthing counterpart, Sherlock Holmes, Raffles has very few additional works written about him. I'm always on the lookout for more escapades of Raffles and his Bunny! |
Before Raffles and Bunny there was the idea of turning a fine, up-standing public-school man into a common criminal. Read the stories that shaped the legend of the gentleman thief! Here are the stories that gave Raffles his name and his partner in crime. With each story comes notes on interesting tit-bits and links to additional information to help you unravel the men behind the villainy. Did you know there were two plays co-written by Hornung? Many of the feature-length films that were produced were based on these plays. Sadly, I currently do not have the text of these plays (as yet), although one of them was published in an omnibus in Canada some years ago. If anyone is able to get a hold of this, please contact me. The one and only full-length novel written by Hornung about our favourite burglar. Although it did not fare as well with the fans, it is still a must for any complete Raffles collection. |