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Raffles Revisited: New Adventures of a Famous Gentleman Crook
1st edn. 8vo. Original silver lettered blue cloth (VG), dustwrapper (small closed tears and wrinkled along top edges of inside folds - otherwise VG in protective wrapper, not price clipped). Pp. 311, illus with b&w drawings (no inscriptions).
311 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
11 people want to read
About the author
Barry Perowne
51 books2 followersBarry Perowne is a pseudonym of Philip Atkey who was born in the New Forest area of Wiltshire.
He left school at the age of 14 to work for a carnival equipment manufacturer; he used his experiences in this line of work in his later works on carnival showmen who, with their families and caravans, took up winter quarters in the factory yards. He later became secretary to his uncle Bertram Atkey before editing two magazines that published humorous and romantic fiction. In addition he wrote short stories for several other magazines as well as a couple of novels about Dick Turpin, the highwayman, and Red Jim, the first air detective.
By agreement with the E W Hornung estate he continued the Raffles series created by that author. His first stories of the amateur cracksman appeared in the British magazine 'The Thriller' with the sophisticated cracksman's adventures put into contemporary settings.
In 1933 he married Bertram Atkey's daughter; their marriage was to produce one daughter and ended in divorce in 1948.
He joined the Army in 1940 and served three years in the infantry and three years in the intelligence corps.
He continued to write his Raffles stories and many of them appeared in 'Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'. Fourteen of the best of those stories appeared in 'Raffles Revisited' in 1974, a book which came some 40 years after his first published books about Raffles. His Raffles stories were considered by many critics to be far superior to those of Raffles' creator E W Hornung.
He also wrote under his own name, Philip Atkey, and 'Blue Water Murder' (1935), 'Heirs of Merlin' (1945) and 'Juniper Rock' (1952) were the results.
He also used the pseudonym Pat Merriman, 'Night Call' (1937) and in addition wrote under his own name, 'Arrest These Men!' (1932) being the first of such productions ... to be followed by many more, ending with 'A Singular Conspiracy', which is a crime fantasy based on an apocryphal meeting between Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Baudelaire.
He died on 24 December 1985.
He left school at the age of 14 to work for a carnival equipment manufacturer; he used his experiences in this line of work in his later works on carnival showmen who, with their families and caravans, took up winter quarters in the factory yards. He later became secretary to his uncle Bertram Atkey before editing two magazines that published humorous and romantic fiction. In addition he wrote short stories for several other magazines as well as a couple of novels about Dick Turpin, the highwayman, and Red Jim, the first air detective.
By agreement with the E W Hornung estate he continued the Raffles series created by that author. His first stories of the amateur cracksman appeared in the British magazine 'The Thriller' with the sophisticated cracksman's adventures put into contemporary settings.
In 1933 he married Bertram Atkey's daughter; their marriage was to produce one daughter and ended in divorce in 1948.
He joined the Army in 1940 and served three years in the infantry and three years in the intelligence corps.
He continued to write his Raffles stories and many of them appeared in 'Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'. Fourteen of the best of those stories appeared in 'Raffles Revisited' in 1974, a book which came some 40 years after his first published books about Raffles. His Raffles stories were considered by many critics to be far superior to those of Raffles' creator E W Hornung.
He also wrote under his own name, Philip Atkey, and 'Blue Water Murder' (1935), 'Heirs of Merlin' (1945) and 'Juniper Rock' (1952) were the results.
He also used the pseudonym Pat Merriman, 'Night Call' (1937) and in addition wrote under his own name, 'Arrest These Men!' (1932) being the first of such productions ... to be followed by many more, ending with 'A Singular Conspiracy', which is a crime fantasy based on an apocryphal meeting between Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Baudelaire.
He died on 24 December 1985.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 27, 2015
A few months ago I read and reviewed the original collection of Raffles stories by the creator, E.W. Hornung. When Hornung died in 1921, it would have been reasonable to assume that that was the end of the Raffles story arc. But in the early 1930s, young English crime writer Barry Perowne was approached by the magazine The Thriller to revive the series. The first few stories he produced had Raffles and Bunny operating in the current world of 1932, though with many references to the original series--the Albany Hotel, Sullivan cigarettes, and so on. These stories didn't get much traction, nor did a full-length book Perowne penned in which Raffles got married. These stories have (thankfully, by the sound of it) all but disappeared from the Raffles canon.
But in 1950 Perowne was again approached, this time by Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and this time the new Raffles stories were set back during the original time frame and London setting. They were much worthier successors to the originals, but they were noticeably different as well. In almost none of these stories do Raffles and Bunny use their burgling skills for their own enrichment, except perhaps as an afterthought; instead, most of the tales are of the Robin Hood variety, in which the pair arrange a break-in or a burglary for the benefit of someone in trouble--such as stealing a family heirloom to raise insurance money for the family, only to secretly return the item later. Also, Raffles smokes a lot more Sullivans in these stories, rather than saving them for an occasional treat.
Overall I would recommend this collection as an amusing and worthwhile follow-on to the original series; just be aware that subtle differences exist. I think I would prefer these non-crime stories be scattered among and between the tales in The Amateur Cracksman.
But in 1950 Perowne was again approached, this time by Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and this time the new Raffles stories were set back during the original time frame and London setting. They were much worthier successors to the originals, but they were noticeably different as well. In almost none of these stories do Raffles and Bunny use their burgling skills for their own enrichment, except perhaps as an afterthought; instead, most of the tales are of the Robin Hood variety, in which the pair arrange a break-in or a burglary for the benefit of someone in trouble--such as stealing a family heirloom to raise insurance money for the family, only to secretly return the item later. Also, Raffles smokes a lot more Sullivans in these stories, rather than saving them for an occasional treat.
Overall I would recommend this collection as an amusing and worthwhile follow-on to the original series; just be aware that subtle differences exist. I think I would prefer these non-crime stories be scattered among and between the tales in The Amateur Cracksman.
July 31, 2013
This is not the best Raffles material but it's a worthy read for fans. I have read all of Hornung's original short stories, and two other volumes of Perowne's; I believe this volumes collects the earliest of Perowne's (period authentic) pastiches and it seems a bit unrehearsed compared with the later Albany or MCC collections. The stories seemed to strengthen, further into the book, however.
Ultimately, in truth, all of the Perowne Raffles stories are literary "comfort food;" despite the protagonists' operating on the opposite side of the law, these really are the tidy stories in which everything is wrapped up neatly by the last page as is often alleged to be the case at 221B Baker Street. The criticism is often inaccurate, when applied to Sherlock Holmes's original adventures, and even to some extent to Raffles's (as penned by Hornung, contemporary and brother-in-law to Holmes's creator).
It does apply, perfectly, to Perowne's later revival of Raffles, but that's not necessarily a great flaw. Serious, challenging literature certainly has its place; safe and relaxing bedtime stories do as well. I've found Perowne's Raffles stories excellent examples of the latter, and eminently re-readable, and while this volume is a bit shorter on flair it still earns its place alongside them in that same category.
Ultimately, in truth, all of the Perowne Raffles stories are literary "comfort food;" despite the protagonists' operating on the opposite side of the law, these really are the tidy stories in which everything is wrapped up neatly by the last page as is often alleged to be the case at 221B Baker Street. The criticism is often inaccurate, when applied to Sherlock Holmes's original adventures, and even to some extent to Raffles's (as penned by Hornung, contemporary and brother-in-law to Holmes's creator).
It does apply, perfectly, to Perowne's later revival of Raffles, but that's not necessarily a great flaw. Serious, challenging literature certainly has its place; safe and relaxing bedtime stories do as well. I've found Perowne's Raffles stories excellent examples of the latter, and eminently re-readable, and while this volume is a bit shorter on flair it still earns its place alongside them in that same category.
December 27, 2023
If you are either a Sherlock Holmes or an A J Raffles fan then all of the 14 short stories in this volume are well worth reading for both their entertainment value and for their ingenuity. The character is a slightly altered one from the original author (A C Doyle's brother-in-law E W Hornung) as he has more of the justice of Sherlock Holmes and a bit less of the thief, but not completely. Still a bit of a rogue but a lovable one as portrayed by Barry Perowne.
October 31, 2023
I didn't want this book to end.
May 6, 2016
read SOMETIME in 2000
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews