The Amateur Cracksman

The Amateur Cracksman was the original short story collection by Ernest William Hornung featuring his most famous character A. J. Raffles a gentleman thief in late Victorian Great Britain. It was first published in 1899.

The book was very well received and spawned three follow-ups, two more short story collections The Black Mask (1901), A Thief in the Night (1904) and a full-length novel Mr. Justice Raffles in 1909. Ernest William Hornung (7 June 1866 - 22 March 1921), known professionally as E. W. Hornung, was a poet and English author, most famous for writing the A. J.

Raffles series of novels about a gentleman thief in late 19th century London.