Arthur J. Raffles is a character created in the 1890s by E. W. Hornung, brother-in-law to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Raffles is, in many ways, a deliberate inversion of Holmes - he is a ""gentleman thief,"" living at the Albany, a prestigious address in London, playing cricket for the Gentlemen of England and supporting himself by carrying out ingenious burglaries. He is called the ""Amateur Cracksman,"" and often, at first, differentiates between himself and the ""professors"" - professional criminals from the lower classes. As Holmes has Dr. Watson to chronicle his adventures, Raffles has Harry ""Bunny"" Manders - a former schoolmate saved from disgrace and suicide by Raffles, whom Raffles persuaded to accompany him on a burglary. While Raffles often takes advantage of Manders' relative innocence, and sometimes treats him with a certain amount of contempt, he knows that Manders' bravery and loyalty are to be relied on utterly.

Originally published in The Strand Magazine, where he was second in popularity only to the legendary Sherlock Holmes, these stories introduced the world to antihero gentleman cricketer and thief, A.J. Raffles, along with his faithful cohort, Bunny Manders. This collection includes all of author E.W. Hornung's Raffles adventures. Contains the short story collections: The Amateur Cracksman The Black Mask The Thief in the Night And the novel Mr Justice Raffles

The adventures of one of fiction's most enduring characters, the hyper-elegant A. J. Raffles, man-about-town, thief, and 'finest slow bowler of his generation'. With his partner in crime, Bunny Manders Raffles preys on the rich, the greedy, and the unspeakably vulgar. His talents are exercised not only in London, but as far afield as Italy, Australia, and South Africa at the height of the Boer War. The emphasis on panache, with intensifying suggestions of fallibility, goes to the heart of late Vicotiran attitudes and values. In this volume are all the adventures contained in The Amateur Cracksman, The Black Mask, and A Thief in the Night, with a new introduction and a map of London locations.

These are E. W. Hornung's famous stories of adventure and crime featuring the thrill seeking A. J. Raffles and his friend, accomplice and chronicler 'Bunny'. By turns urbane gentleman about town and accomplished cricketer, life is just too ordinary for Raffles and that sets him on a series of adventures that have long been treasured as a real antidote to the 'white knights' who are the usual heroes of the crime fiction of this period. This book includes the first two collections of Raffles-the Gentleman Cracksman-stories, The Amateur Cracksman & The Black Mask-comprising some 16 stories in all. Included are 'The Ides of March, ' 'Nine Points of the Law, ' 'The Fate of Faustina' and many other favourites. Leonaur is bringing the entire Raffles adventures together in two matching volumes which are available in softcover and hardcover with dust jacket-making them perfect for collector

This volume contains the complete collection -48 short stories and 1 novel-, involving RAFFLES -the best known thief of all times- and his family. A. J. Raffles, a gentleman thief in late-Victorian Britain, was written by Hornung and dedicated to his brother in law, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The narrative form is similar to Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, with Raffles and his partner Bunny Manders being the criminal counterparts to Holmes and Dr. Watson. The last two books of short stories involving Raffles' wife and his grand son, Raffles Holmes, Esq., Detective and Amateur Cracksman, were written by Hornung friend and editor at Harper's, John Kendrick Bangs. The six books included -5 collections of short stories-, plus one novel, are the following: BOOK ONE: THE AMATEUR CRACKSMAN 1.THE IDES OF MARCH 2. A COSTUME PIECE 3. GENTLEMEN AND PLAYERS 4. LE PREMIER PAS 5. WILFUL MURDER 6. NINE POINTS OF THE LAW 7. THE RETURN MATCH 8. THE GIFT OF THE EMPEROR BOOK TWO RAFFLES: FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE AMATEUR CRACKSMAN 1. NO SINECURE 2. A JUBILEE PRESENT 3. THE FATE OF FAUSTINA 4. THE LAST LAUGH 5. TO CATCH A THIEF 6. AN OLD FLAME 7. THE WRONG HOUSE 8. THE KNEES OF THE GODS BOOK THREE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT 1. Out of Paradise 2. The Chest of Silver 3. The Rest Cure 4. The Criminologists' Club 5. The Field of Phillipi 6. A Bad Night 7. A Trap to Catch a Cracksman 8. The Spoils of Sacrilege 9. The Raffles Relics 10. The Last Word BOOK FOUR MR. JUSTICE RAFFLES (a novel) BOOK FIVE MRS. RAFFLES I. THE ADVENTURE OF THE HERALD PERSONAL II. THE ADVENTURE OF THE NEWPORT VILLA III. THE ADVENTURE OF MRS. GASTER'S MAID IV. THE PEARL ROPE OF MRS. GUSHINGTON-ANDREWS V. THE ADVENTURE OF THE STEEL BONDS VI. THE ADVENTURE OF THE FRESH-AIR FUND VII. THE ADVENTURE OF MRS. ROCKERBILT'S TIARA VIII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE CARNEGIE LIBRARY IX. THE ADVENTURE OF THE HOLD-UP X. THE ADVENTURE OF MRS. SHADD'S MUSICALE XI. THE ADVENTURE OF MRS. INNITT'S COOK XII. THE LAST ADVENTURE BOOK SIX R. HOLMES & CO. I INTRODUCING MR. RAFFLES HOLMES II THE ADVENTURE OF THE DORRINGTON RUBY SEAL III THE ADVENTURE OF MRS. BURLINGAME'S DIAMOND STOMACHER IV THE ADVENTURE OF THE MISSING PENDANTS V THE ADVENTURE OF THE BRASS CHECK VI THE ADVENTURE OF THE HIRED BURGLAR VII THE REDEMPTION OF YOUNG BILLINGTON RAND VIII "THE NOSTALGIA OF NERVY JIM THE SNATCHER" IX THE ADVENTURE OF ROOM 407 X THE MAJOR-GENERAL'S PEPPERPOTS