Real
Name: A.J. Raffles
Identity/Class: Normal human
Occupation: Gentleman thief
Affiliations: Harry "Bunny" Manders
Enemies: Inspector MacKenzie of Scotland Yard
Known Relatives: Sherlock Holmes (possible brother-in-law, as suggested by author Sean Levin and Win Scott Eckert)
Aliases: The Amateur Cracksman; Mr.Maturin
Base of Operations: The Albany, London, England, 1890's.
First Appearance: The Ides of March (Cassell's Magazine, June 1898)
Powers/Abilities: Skilled amateur burglar. Excellent at slight of hand, master of disguise.
History:
A.J. Raffles was a gentleman, an ex-public school lad who had continued into
London's High Society as an adult, living in the Albany (Albany Court, St.James'
in London), being a member of the best clubs, and playing cricket for England.
However a trip to "the Colonies" changed the direction of his life forever.
Finding himself broke, he overcame whatever moral qualms he might have had
and engaged in some larceny to survive, only to find the excitement of theft
addictive: "I’d tasted blood, and it was all over with me. Why should
I work when I could steal? Why settle down to some humdrum uncongenial billet,
when excitement, romance, danger, and a decent living were all going begging
together."
Having returned to England, he continued his new career as an "amateur cracksman", eventually gaining an accomplice in the form of an old school friend Harry "Bunny" Manders, now a penniless journalist. Bunny admitted to Raffles that he had written cheques to pay gambling without having the money to cover them, and was now considering suicide rather than face the dishonour; Raffles suggested to him a different course, and had him assist in the burglary of a jewelry shop. From then on the two would be partners, with Bunny acting as Raffles unofficial biographer as well.
While a thief, Raffles always remained a gentleman as well, a staunch patriot and lover of the monarchy, who would sometimes use his larcenous skills in the cause of moral justice, to right some wrong. However he was honest enough to admit that he usually stole for personal gain, and he wasn't above abusing Bunny's trust in him in pursuit of a profit. His ego also played a factor - making sure the public knew of his skillful (if illegal) activities was also important to him.
Raffles met his end after enlisting in the British Army to help fight the Boer War. He used his skills to unmask a spy, but only at the cost of his own life. He died admitting regret for introducing his friend Bunny to a life of crime.
Comments:
Raffles was created by Ernest William Hornung, who was brother-in-law
to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (through marriage to Doyle's sister Constance)
- which means that the creator of England's greatest Victorian thief was
brother-in-law to the creator of England's greatest detective,
Sherlock Holmes. Hornung paid tribute to his
famous relation by dedicating his first collection of stories, "The Amateur
Cracksman", to him; for his part, Doyle was worried about the book's potential
effect on the public's morals by making a criminal the hero, but admitted
to appreciating the dedication "I think I may claim that his famous character
Raffles was a kind of inversion of Sherlock Holmes, Bunny playing Watson.
He admits as much in his kindly dedication. I think there are few finer examples
of short-story writing in our language than these, though I confess I think
they are rather dangerous in their suggestion. I told him so before he put
pen to paper, and the result has, I fear, borne me out. You must not make
the criminal a hero."
After
an initial outing in Cassell's Magazine, most of Raffles early stories made
their debut in The Strand during the latter part of the 1890s. They were
then collected in The Amateur Cracksman (1898), The Black Mask (1901; published
in the States. as "Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman"),
and A Thief in the Night (1905; published in the States as "A Thief in the
Night: Further Adventures of A.J. Raffles, Cricketer and Cracksman"), with
an additional full-length novel Mr. Justice Raffles being added a few years
later. Later authors who have continued Raffles adventures include Barry
Perowne, Peter Tremayne and Philip Jose Farmer.
A play of the original story was written by Hornung, and for two years, until it's close, Sir Gerald du Maurier portrayed the part on the London stage. In 1905 Raffles made his cinematic debut, with Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson in the role. Raffles returned to the screen time and again, played by Ford Sterling (1913), Jon Barrymore (1917), Gerald Ames (1921), House Peters (1925), Ronald Coleman (1930), George Barraud (1932), David Niven (1940), Anthony Valentine (1975 and a 1977 tv series), and Nigel Havers (2002).
Thanks to Zoe Bremer for additional information on this character.
CLARIFICATIONS: None
Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.
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