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Raffles
Queen Victoria was on the throne, her Empire outrageously threatened by the Boer War: the Klondyke Gold Rush began; Flying Fox won the Derby and A.E. Trott scored the biggest hit at Lords [sic] by driving the ball over the pavilion. The year was 1899 and saw the birth of A.J. Raffles, Esq., that most gentlemanly thief in E.W. Hornung's 'The Amateur Cracksman'.
Working from Philip Mackie's witty and evocative television scripts, David Fletcher has been able to recreate vividly the character and crimes of Raffles. Assisted by the faithful and honest 'Bunny' Manders, Raffles maintains them in the style to which they are accustomed while being feted by the British public for his exploits on the cricket field; exploits which ensure invitations to the wealthiest houses in the land.
Titled ladies consequently relieved of their exquisite jewels, the property of the nation vanishes from the British Museum and no bank strong room is secure. Suave and elegant, the darling of society, Raffles flourishes in his criminal activities among which the more impossible challenges attract him most.
David Fletcher has accurately and delightfully captured the world of A.J. Raffles and will bring great pleasure to the countless admirers of the most famous 'amateur cracksman'.
Working from Philip Mackie's witty and evocative television scripts, David Fletcher has been able to recreate vividly the character and crimes of Raffles. Assisted by the faithful and honest 'Bunny' Manders, Raffles maintains them in the style to which they are accustomed while being feted by the British public for his exploits on the cricket field; exploits which ensure invitations to the wealthiest houses in the land.
Titled ladies consequently relieved of their exquisite jewels, the property of the nation vanishes from the British Museum and no bank strong room is secure. Suave and elegant, the darling of society, Raffles flourishes in his criminal activities among which the more impossible challenges attract him most.
David Fletcher has accurately and delightfully captured the world of A.J. Raffles and will bring great pleasure to the countless admirers of the most famous 'amateur cracksman'.
217 pages, Hardcover
First published February 24, 1977
5 people want to read
About the author
David Fletcher
447 books14 followersDavid Fletcher is a historian at the Tank Museum at Bovington and has written a great number of books on British armour.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 25, 2020
David Fletcher admirably captures the life and times of that most celebrated amateur cracksman A.J. Raffles, who, assisted by his faithful ex-school fag 'Bunny' Manders, commits the most outrageous of crimes across the face of London .. but all done in the best possible taste, as it were!
Rarely is he suspected - except by Inspector Mackenzie of Scotland Yard who can never unveil any evidence to connect him to the crimes - despite being, or recently having been, in the salient place on most occasions when the crimes are committed. His cricketing fame always ensures that he is invited to the most prestigious of homes as the owners delight in his company and admire his exploits on the cricket field. But Raffles always has his eye on the main chance, whatever that may entail.
His methods are seemingly fool proof and the proceeds of his crimes manage to keep himself and 'Bunny' in the extravagant style to which they are accustomed. 'Bunny' is sometimes loathe to join in but Raffles, with his undeniable charm, always manages to persuade him otherwise. It can lead to complications because 'Bunny' is not the most proficient teller of tales and he does need plenty of coaching from the master.
In this series of seven different tales, linked by mention of previous cases in each one, Raffles gets the better of a card sharp who has earlier fleeced 'Bunny' at the table and attends a sporting club dinner and manages to acquire some diamonds, the theft of which 'Bunny' is arrested for and only Raffles' glibness manages to get him out of a tight spot.
In addition he fools Inspector Mackenzie by use of his cricket bag when a precious silver cup goes missing and acquires by quite remarkable means a item from the British Museum that, in the true English spirit, he has delivered to Queen Victoria!
And he contrives in three other stories to defeat the might of Scotland Yard, ensure that 'Bunny' is never in any trouble even though he entrusts him to assist in the crimes, remain persona grata at all the influential houses in the capital and, most of all, make Inspector Mackenzie look most ordinary.
The book is an absolute delight, the characters are excellent and it captures the period in splendid fashion thus it is a great shame when it ends.
Rarely is he suspected - except by Inspector Mackenzie of Scotland Yard who can never unveil any evidence to connect him to the crimes - despite being, or recently having been, in the salient place on most occasions when the crimes are committed. His cricketing fame always ensures that he is invited to the most prestigious of homes as the owners delight in his company and admire his exploits on the cricket field. But Raffles always has his eye on the main chance, whatever that may entail.
His methods are seemingly fool proof and the proceeds of his crimes manage to keep himself and 'Bunny' in the extravagant style to which they are accustomed. 'Bunny' is sometimes loathe to join in but Raffles, with his undeniable charm, always manages to persuade him otherwise. It can lead to complications because 'Bunny' is not the most proficient teller of tales and he does need plenty of coaching from the master.
In this series of seven different tales, linked by mention of previous cases in each one, Raffles gets the better of a card sharp who has earlier fleeced 'Bunny' at the table and attends a sporting club dinner and manages to acquire some diamonds, the theft of which 'Bunny' is arrested for and only Raffles' glibness manages to get him out of a tight spot.
In addition he fools Inspector Mackenzie by use of his cricket bag when a precious silver cup goes missing and acquires by quite remarkable means a item from the British Museum that, in the true English spirit, he has delivered to Queen Victoria!
And he contrives in three other stories to defeat the might of Scotland Yard, ensure that 'Bunny' is never in any trouble even though he entrusts him to assist in the crimes, remain persona grata at all the influential houses in the capital and, most of all, make Inspector Mackenzie look most ordinary.
The book is an absolute delight, the characters are excellent and it captures the period in splendid fashion thus it is a great shame when it ends.
August 16, 2021
You know those novels based on movies? This is basically one of those: a series of loosely interconnected short stories (not a novel) based on the 1970s Raffles TV series. The dialogue in this is taken verbatim from those scripts. Now, the television series follows the original E.W. Hornung stories pretty well so...I guess I don't understand why this book exists or why the author is getting any credit at all, because pastiche this is not. It's not badly written by any means, but it's just redundant.
Skip this and get Hornung's original Raffles books and the Valentine/Strauli show instead (and if you like those I highly recommend the BBC radio dramatization series).
Skip this and get Hornung's original Raffles books and the Valentine/Strauli show instead (and if you like those I highly recommend the BBC radio dramatization series).
September 6, 2020
You wouldn't believe how reluctant I was to purchase this. It wasn't Sherlock! But my Sherlock book-seller recommended it. Said it was a SH-like pastiche. No! I railed.
But, with nothing to read, eventually I caved. You can guess the outcome... I wished I had been less stubborn. Very enjoyable.
But, with nothing to read, eventually I caved. You can guess the outcome... I wished I had been less stubborn. Very enjoyable.
March 12, 2025
Novelization of episodes from the TV series "Raffles" by "David Fletcher" (a pen-name for Dolan F. Barber, and not the tank historian David Fletcher). Entertaining, fun fluff about a gentleman burglar in Victorian London.
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December 12, 2022Bad retelling of the original Raffles stories by Hornung, smooshed together and converted to third person telling. Why bother?
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews