The Amateur Cracksman

The Amateur Cracksman is a short story collection published in 1899 that introduces A. J. Raffles, a celebrated cricket champion and gentleman of London society who leads a secret double life as a jewel thief. Raffles was E. W. Hornung's most famous character, and this book led to three later works in the series. In public a popular sportsman, in private a cunning burglar with a weakness for valuable jewellery, Arthur Raffles — with the help of his sidekick Bunny Manders — always manages to thwart the investigations of Scotland Yard's Inspector Mackenzie. The books were suggested by Hornung's brother-in-law, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Raffles came into being almost as an anti-Sherlock Holmes.