Raffles, The Amateur Cracksman

Gentleman thief Raffles is daring, debonair, devilishly handsome – and a first-class cricketer. In these eight stories the master burglar indulges his passion for cricket and thieving jewels from a country house, outwitting the law, stealing from the nouveau riche and, of course, bowling like a demon – all with the assistance of his plucky sidekick Bunny. Encouraged by a suggestion from his brother-in-law Arthur Conan Doyle to write a series about a public-school villain, and influenced by his own days at Uppingham, Ernest 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 honour among thieves.