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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
The gentleman welcomed into the finest houses is also the thief who wants their jewels.
In E. W. Hornung’s The Amateur Cracksman, A. J. Raffles plays cricket for England and moves easily through London society. Behind his polished manners lies a taste for theft. When his old schoolfellow Bunny Manders faces debts he cannot pay, admiration draws him toward Raffles and a dangerous double life.
These eight linked stories follow clever plans, tense nights and narrow escapes through Bunny’s nervous, admiring eyes. The Ides of March opens with his desperate troubles; A Costume Piece turns on disguise and timing; Le Premier Pas explores Raffles’s first step into crime. Each tale stands alone, while their strange friendship binds the collection together.
What you’ll discover
- A polished double life Meet a celebrated cricketer whose welcome in fine houses sits beside his secret hunger for jewels.
- Nerve beneath the manners Follow plans that depend on disguise, timing and the courage to risk discovery.
- An uneasy loyal friend See Raffles through Bunny’s eyes, where admiration and guilt make every risk feel personal.
- Jewels under watch Enter a country house party where Inspector Mackenzie tries to protect the guests and their jewels.
- The lure of risk Explore a friendship in which Bunny’s devotion becomes both his weakness and his strength.
Who will love it
Readers who love clever plans, charming rogues and Victorian London by gaslight will enjoy this book. It suits fans of Sherlock Holmes who wonder how the other side thinks.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Desperation draws Bunny into crime
- Pride makes a careful thief vulnerable
- Cricket gives Raffles a public disguise
- An accidental lie opens the way
- Loyalty keeps Bunny beside Raffles
- Boldness becomes a form of concealment
- A voyage brings overlapping risks
- Friendship complicates the judgment of character
Who’s who
- A. J. RafflesA famous cricketer and charming gentleman who lives as a burglar, drawn to dangerous targets and clever plans.
- BunnyRaffles's old school fag and loyal partner, who tells the stories and follows his friend despite his fear and conscience.
- Inspector MackenzieA patient Scotland Yard detective who suspects Raffles and appears in disguise, again and again, to catch him.
- CrawshayA florid professional thief who escapes from Dartmoor and turns to Raffles for help in getting out of England.
- Bennett AddenbrookeA shady London lawyer who hires Raffles and Bunny to recover a stolen painting for a wealthy client.
- Miss WernerA young woman on the German liner Uhlan whose friendship with Raffles forms part of his plan for the pearl.
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The Amateur Cracksman
by E. W. Hornung · 1899
A ruined gambler threatens suicide before a cricket hero and gets a partner in crime instead.
Easy read2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“We don’t change, Bunny. We only develop.”
In short
What would you do if the man you admired most at school asked you to help him rob a jeweller? That is the question Bunny faces on a foggy March night in London.
The Amateur Cracksman at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 30 min2 h 45 min fast, 4 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 50,100 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1899by E. W. Hornung
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A ruined gambler finds a partner in crime
The book opens at half past twelve on a foggy night in the Albany. Bunny has gambled away an inheritance and written worthless cheques to his card partners. He begs Raffles for two minutes of his time. His family is gone, his furniture is under a bill of sale, and he carries a pistol.
Bunny puts the barrel to his own temple. Raffles shows wonder instead of fear, and that look stops Bunny's hand. Raffles takes the gun and says he is as broke as his visitor, with nothing to live on but his wits. He asks whether Bunny would do anything for a friend, even commit a crime. Bunny says yes, and Raffles says the money must be found that very night.
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Details
- First published
- 1899
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 3 h 55 min
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Hornung, E. W. The Amateur Cracksman. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-amateur-cracksman.
Hornung, E. W. (2026). The amateur cracksman. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-amateur-cracksman (Original work published 1899)
Hornung, E. W. The Amateur Cracksman. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-amateur-cracksman.
@book{hornung2026amateur,
author = {Hornung, E. W.},
title = {The Amateur Cracksman},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-amateur-cracksman},
note = {First published 1899}
}
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What is The Amateur Cracksman about?
It is a book of eight linked stories about A. J. Raffles, a famous cricketer who is secretly a burglar, and his friend Bunny, who tells the tales. They steal jewels, plan heists and dodge Scotland Yard in late Victorian London.
Who is Bunny in the Raffles stories?
Bunny is a younger school friend of Raffles, ruined by gambling, who becomes his partner in crime. He narrates every story, admires Raffles deeply, and often hides his fear behind loyalty and a sense of humour.
Is The Amateur Cracksman connected to Sherlock Holmes?
Yes. Hornung was Arthur Conan Doyle's brother-in-law, and he dedicated the book to A. C. D. Raffles and Bunny are a thief and a faithful narrator, in a pattern that echoes Holmes and Watson.
The author
E. W. Hornung
1866–1921 · English crime novelist
Ernest William Hornung (1866–1921) was a British writer born in Middlesbrough, England. He lived in Australia from 1884 to 1886 before returning to England. He wrote the Raffles stories, including The Amateur Cracksman (1899) and A Thief in the Night (1905). He died in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France.
“We don’t change, Bunny. We only develop.”
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