The Amateur Cracksman

The Amateur Cracksman was the original short story collection by E. W. Hornung featuring his most famous character, A. J. Raffles, a gentleman thief in late Victorian Great Britain. It was first published in 1899. The book was very well received and spawned three follow-ups: two more short story collections, The Black Mask (1901) and A Thief in the Night (1904), as well as a full-length novel, Mr. Justice Raffles in 1909.Ernest William Hornung (1866 - 1921) was an English author and poet known for writing the A. J. Raffles series of stories about a gentleman thief in late 19th-century London.