The Amateur Cracksman is an 1899 short story collection by
E. W. Hornung . It was the original short story collection by Hornung, featuring his most famous character,
A. J. Raffles , a gentleman thief in late
Victorian Great Britain . 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-lenh novel,
Mr. Justice Raffles (1909).
Ernest William Hornung (7 June 1866 – 22 March 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. Hornung was educated at Uppingham School; as a result of poor health he left the school in December 1883 to travel to Sydney, where he stayed for two years. He drew on his Australian experiences as a background when he began writing, initially short stories and later novels.