Mr. Justice Raffles

Raffles had vanished from the face of the town, and even I had no conception of his whereabouts until he cabled to me to meet the 7.31 at Charing Cross next night. That was on the Tuesday before the 'Varsity match, or a full fortnight after his mysterious disappearance. The telegram was from Carlsbad, of all places for Raffles of all men! Of course there was only one thing that could possibly have taken so rare a specimen of physical fitness to any such pernicious spot. But to my horror he emerged from the train, on the Wednesday evening, a cadaverous caricature of the splendid person I had gone to meet.

E. W. Hornung (Ernest William Hornung) (1866-1921) was a British author best known for creating the character A. J. Raffles, a gentleman thief who became one of the most iconic figures in crime fiction. Born in Middlesbrough, England, Hornung was the youngest of eight children in a family with strong literary ties; he was the brother-in-law of Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Hornung's early life was marked by a move to Australia, where he spent several years working and exploring the outback. This experience deeply influenced his writing, as seen in novels like The Boss of Taroomba, which vividly depict the challenges and adventures of life in the Australian frontier. Although Hornung is primarily celebrated for his Raffles stories, which cleverly subvert the detective genre popularized by Doyle, his works also include poetry, short stories, and other novels that explore themes of crime, morality, and social dynamics. Hornung's writing is characterized by a keen understanding of human nature and a flair for crafting engaging narratives with complex characters. His contributions to crime fiction and adventure literature have left a lasting legacy, making him a significant figure in early 20th-century literature.