Raffles: Collected Stories (1898-1909) - E. W. Hornung Audiobook

Written by E. W. Hornung
Read by Peter Joyce
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

From his first appearance in 1898 “In the Chains of Crime”, Raffles, along with his sidekick Bunny Manders, was EW Hornung’s alternative to the rapier-sharp genius of Holmes and the buttoned-down loquacity of Watson – something dark, morally uncertain, yet convincingly, reassuringly English.

E. W. Hornung was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s brother in law, but Raffles is the very antithesis of Sherlock Homes - yet still a hero and one that the Victorians and succeeding generations, perhaps surprisingly, took to their hearts.

Raffles books are not novels but collections of short stories. The collection of Raffles stories is – The Amateur Cracksman (1899), The Black Mask. (1901). A Thief in the Night (1905), and a novel Mr. Justice Raffles (1909)

The only recording of Mr. Justice Raffles (novel) is a Libravox recording. Get it directly from Libravox. It is carried by some library’s Overdrive and some paid book sites.

01 - The Amateur Cracksman (!899)

Why should I work when I could steal?’ Thus speaks A. J.Raffles, gentleman, the finest slow bowler of his generation and a shameless thief. When Bunny, an old school acquaintance, confesses that he will be dishonorably disgraced for writing cheques that his bank will not meet, Raffles persuades him to assist in a burglary. From that moment, Bunny is locked into a life of crime and, fortunately for his audience, recounts their adventures in a most thrilling way.

The stories in this volume are ‘The Ides of March’, ‘A Costume Piece’, ‘Gentleman and Players’, ‘Le Premier Pas’, ‘Willful Murder’, and ‘Nine Points of the Law’, The Return Match, The Gift of the Emperor

02 - Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman (1901) The Black Mask

In this second collection of Hornungs’ stories the darker side of Raffles is laid bare. Inspector Mackenzie begins to suspect that the finest cricketer of his generation may not be wielding a straight bat, a suspicion further confirmed by the appearance of Reginald Crawshay, master criminal, late residence HM Prison, Dartmoor, at Raffles’ rooms at the Albany. Events take a turn for the worse when our antihero is caught red handed on board ship in an escapade of outrageous criminal daring and evades capture by diving from the rail of the deck, spending a long enforced vacation on the Isle of Elba while Bunny resides at Her Majesty’s pleasure for his part as accomplice.

The two are eventually reunited but forced underground to continue their illicit business. However, Raffles is a changed man, a bigger risk taker and much more cynical than before. The traumatic circumstances, which brought about this metamorphosis, are later revealed and with great panache and courage Raffles revenges himself upon those who have afflicted him and lives to steal another day.

No Sinecure — A Jubilee Present — The Fate of Faustina — The Last Laugh — To Catch a Thief — An Old Flame — The Wrong House — The Knees of the Gods

03 - A Thief in the Night (1905)
Audible title - (Raffles Run Out - nearly complete)
Narrated by: Peter Joyce
Series: A. J. Raffles, book 3
Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
Release date: 12-22-10
Publisher: Assembled Stories

Full original book title – A Thief in the Night: Further Adventures of J. A Raffles, Cricketer and Cracksman

Hornung made a grave error in finishing the master burglar’s life and career so soon, realized his mistake and brought him back to the printed page. Surprisingly, unlike so many sequels, the resulting yarns, in most parts, prove to be the most enjoyable of the canon because we learn more about Bunny, his accomplice, than we knew before, and Bunny himself reveals more about Raffles than he had earlier - albeit with the stiff upper lip quivering slightly!

The resurrected Raffles has his final innings in these whimsical adventurous reminiscences recounted by his accomplice and friend Bunny Manders. The author skillfully manages to tie up a few loose ends from preceding plots and the final revelation is a moving tribute to his fictional hero, the finest slow bowler of his generation and best-known gentleman thief in literary history.

The stories in this collection are: The Rest Cure, A Chest of Silver, The Criminologists Club, The Field of Philippi, A Bad Night, A Trap to Catch a Cracksman, The Spoils of Sacrilege, The Raffles Relics and The Last Word,

Audible has two complete recordings of book 1, and I found a complete recording of book 2 elsewhere but decided to use the new Audible releases for all books for continuity..

Working with collected stories in Public Domain can be a minefield. The publisher can change names, move elements around. The three new Audible releases are that way. I took apart the collections and reassembled them in the order written using the original collection name.. I left the Audible collection name in the book title field of each track.

Other Audible titles used:
More Raffles
Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins
Release date: 10-26-10

The Adventures of Raffles
Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins
Release date: 06-10-11

Raffles: The Third Over
Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
Release date: 06-10-11

Note – music ended each disk of the original recordings

More info, See http://www.rafflesredux.com/the-stories/ — info about each story.