The Amateur Cracksman

The Amateur Cracksman a collection of short stories by E. W. Hornung was released in 1899. It was published by Methuen & Co. and Scribners in New York. It was published by Methuen & Co. and Scribners in New York in London UK. The title is expanded to Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman in many later versions (T. Nelson & Sons 1914; the University of Nebraska Press 1976; et al). Some editions rename the collection simply as Raffles as the Penguin Books 1948 edition. It was Hornungs first collection of short stories and it included his most well-known figure A gentleman thief in late Victorian Great Britain named Raffles. The Black Mask (1901) and A Thief in the Night (1904) two other short story collections as well as a full-length novel Mr. Justice Raffles were produced in response to the books positive reception (1909). Arthur J. Raffles is a significant figure in London society and a national sports hero. He frequently competes for England in Test matches as a cricketer. He exploits this as a pretext to steal precious jewels from Londons aristocracy in a number of burglaries mostly for fun and profit.