Specify Books Conducive To Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (A.J. Raffles, The Gentleman Thief #1)
| Original Title: | The Amateur Cracksman |
| ISBN: | 0141439335 (ISBN13: 9780141439334) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | A.J. Raffles, The Gentleman Thief #1 |
| Characters: | A.J. Raffles, Bunny Manders |
| Setting: | United Kingdom |
E.W. Hornung
Paperback | Pages: 240 pages Rating: 3.61 | 2078 Users | 225 Reviews
Description In Favor Of Books Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (A.J. Raffles, The Gentleman Thief #1)
Gentleman thief Raffles is daring, debonair, devilishly handsome-and a first-rate cricketer. In these eight stories, the master burglar indulges his passion for cricket and crime: stealing jewels from a country house, outwitting the law, pilfering from the nouveau riche, and, of course, bowling like a demon-all with the assistance of his plucky sidekick, Bunny. Encouraged by his brother-in-law, Arthur Conan Doyle, to write a series about a public school villain, and influenced by his own experiences at Uppingham, E. W. Hornung created a unique form of crime story, where, in stealing as in sport, it is playing the game that counts, and there is always honor among thieves.
List Out Of Books Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (A.J. Raffles, The Gentleman Thief #1)
| Title | : | Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (A.J. Raffles, The Gentleman Thief #1) |
| Author | : | E.W. Hornung |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 240 pages |
| Published | : | August 26th 2003 by Penguin Classics (first published 1898) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Classics. Mystery. Short Stories. Crime |
Rating Out Of Books Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (A.J. Raffles, The Gentleman Thief #1)
Ratings: 3.61 From 2078 Users | 225 ReviewsCriticize Out Of Books Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (A.J. Raffles, The Gentleman Thief #1)
the idea of raffles, the gentleman thief, obverse of the legendary sherlock holmes, gentleman detective (the creation of hornung's esteemed brother-in-law arthur conan doyle), thrills me. and i can't say i don't normally adore the idea of working outside the law to balance the scales of justice -- i watch timothy hutton's modern-day robin hood crew on leverage as often as possible. there is no doubt that raffles is in some ways the progenitor of this type of character but in reading the book iAn utterly delightful romp; more fun than Holmes.
Raffles is such an appealing character that it is a wonder that no other writer has quite captured his spirit. He is one of a class of well-educated young nineteenth-century swells, fit for earning no living, having apparently inherited no fortune, yet expected to live like gentlemen of means. In an earlier age, younger sons or the sons of impecunious gentlemen would have ridden off to the Crusades, or crept into poor livings as clergymen. By the Victorian age, growing numbers of such boys had
I certainly liked the idea portrayed by Horning (Raffles 'The Gentleman Thief'), however for me there was never enough content, intrigue or character building of the protagonists within each internal affair. This was the first story from an Omnibus 'The Collected Raffles'. Hopefully, the next couple stories will deliver more.
This is an adventure. This is nonsense. This is (mainly) fun. It is limited and absurd. It is more a view of how people liked to imagine their society (as a place where people like this might exist) than it is a book that gives a view of a society as it once was.This edition has a wealth of footnotes, most of which seem right and useful (and some of which are one or the other and some, I think, neither).Definitely worth a look. Weak ending but overall very much a good read.
I love Raffles and Bunny playing the anti-Holmes duo, and the weird adventures they get up to. I'd love it more, though, if they did more actual burglary and less "we almost did a burglary but for one reason or another we did not actually commit the burglary." Feels like Hornung is hedging bc of Victorian morality and damn it, I just want some thieves doing thief stuff! Give me the Lupin vibes!
Two queer, bohemian victorian thieves stealing from the unlawfully rich to live away from society? Sign me up!The history of these stories is, in itself, quite telling: written by Arthur Conan Doyle's brother-in-law, they were made to be a "dark reflection" of the detective and his faithful doctor: instead of siding with the law, they make their own and follow a life of crime.But, even then, the result was far from dark. We do not find two murderers, or violent criminals. Instead, the result is
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