Audiobooks by E.W. Hornung

Raffles: The Complete Series 1-3: 18 BBC Radio full-cast dramatisations

18 BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations featuring Raffles, the 'gentleman thief' Jeremy Clyde stars as the cricket playing A. J. Raffles, with Michael Cochrane as his jeweller sidekick, Bunny. Together they embark upon a series of well-planned crimes against the highest of society. Based on the stories by E W Hornung, the episodes in this collection are: The Ides of March Gentlemen and Players A Costume Piece Nine Points of the Law Wilful Murder The Chest of Silver The Rest Cure The Criminologists' Club The Field of Philippi A Bad Night A Trap to Catch a Cracksman The Gift of the Emperor No Sinecure To Catch a Thief An Old Flame The Raffles Relics The Knees of the Gods The Last Word

E.W. Hornung (Author), Full Cast, Jeremy Clyde, Michael Cochrane (Narrator)

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EW Hornung - Rafles, The Short Stories

The short story is often viewed as an inferior relation to the Novel but it is an art in itself. To take a story and distil its essence into fewer pages while keeping character and plot rounded and driven is not an easy task. Many try and many fail. EW Hornung was one to succeed as this audiobook ably demonstrates. Ernest William Hornung was born in Middlesbrough England on 7th June 1866, the third son and youngest of eight children. Although spending most of his life in England and France he spent two years in Australia from 1884 and that experience was to colour and influence much of his written works. His most famous character A. J. Raffles, 'the gentleman thief', was published first in Cassell's Magazine during 1898 and was to make him famous across the world as the new century dawned. It is the cunning exploits of this intrepid character that this volume is based wonderfully brought to life by narrator, Richard Mitchley.

E.W. Hornung (Author), Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman

Ernest William Hornung(1866-1921) was born in Middlesborough, England and educated at Uppingham School, Rutland. He spent two years in Australia for his health, returning to England in 1886. In 1893 he married Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's sister Constance and five years later the first of his stories of "Raffles" the gentleman burglar appeared in Cassell's Magazine. More stories followed and proved extremely popular. The first collection of the exploits of A.J. Raffles and his friend Bunny Manders was published as "The Amateur Cracksman" in 1899. The characters of Raffles and Bunny were possibly inspired by his brother-in-law's creations, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, although they are on the opposite side of the law. The activities of the gentleman cricketer and his associate are highly questionable but "he never steals from his hosts and he helps his old friends in trouble". The stories are: "The Ides of March" "A Costume Piece" "Gentleman and Players" "Le Premier Pas" "Wilful Murder" "Nine Points of the Law" "The Return Match" "The Gift of the Emporer"

E.W. Hornung (Author), Roy Macready (Narrator)

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Raffles: Series 1 & 2: 12 episodes of the BBC Radio 4 Extra dramatisation

Twelve BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations featuring Raffles, the 'gentleman thief'. Jeremy Clyde stars as the cricket playing A.J. Raffles, with Michael Cochrane as his jeweller friend Bunny. Together they embark upon a series of well planned crimes against the highest of society. The twelve stories are The Ides of March; Gentlemen & Players; A Costume Piece; Nine Points of the Law; Wilful Murder; The Chest of Silver; The Rest Cure; The Criminologists' Club; The Field of Philippi; A Bad Night; A Trap To Catch A Cracksman; The Gift Of The Emperor.

E.W. Hornung (Author), Jeremy Clyde, Michael Cochrane (Narrator)

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A Costume Piece: A Raffles Mystery

Ernest William Hornung (1866-1921) was an English writer best known for tales of the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles and his sidekick, Bunny Manders in late 19th-century London. These two characters are thought to have been in part based on his friends Oscar Wilde and his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, and also on Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. In A Costume Piece Raffles is determined to steal the purple diamonds which are worn ostentatiously be the wealthy society bully Reuben Rosenthal. It will be one of the toughest tasks Raffles has ever set himself, not least because the millionaire is armed and dangerous. But Raffles comes up with a cunning plan, although he is initially reluctant to share his scheme with the loyal Bunny Manders...which leads to a near fatal mistake.

E.W. Hornung (Author), Cathy Dobson (Narrator)

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The Saloon Passenger

Skrimshaw is the saloon passenger on board the Lochwinnoch, bound for Australia. He is relieved as the ship sets sail from England, because for the next three months at least, he is safe from the gallows. He has just committed a brutal murder and is fleeing justice. But within a month, news of the fugitive passenger is signalled to the captain of the ship. Skrimshaw has to find a way to escape before the police are called aboard the ship at Melbourne. He has two whole months to think of an ingenious and very cunning plan....

E.W. Hornung (Author), Cathy Dobson (Narrator)

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Raffles - The Amateur Cracksman

If you walk down London’s Piccadilly, you come across an elegant Georgian building set back from the constant stream of traffic. This is The Albany, an imposing warren of “bachelor” apartments which has been home to a string of celebrities for over two centuries, from Lord Byron to Terence Stamp But The Albany was also the address for one of the greatest fictional creations of late 19th-century crime writing, AJ Raffles. The author, E.W. Hornung was not as well known as his brother-in-law, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, yet in many ways, Hornung was a better writer and Raffles a cleverer star then even Sherlock himself. For Raffles operates on the wrong side of the law, yet remains a magnetic and sympathetic personality. On the surface, Raffles is a gentleman cricketer straight out of the pages of “Boy’s Own” – yet from the very first story, “The Ides of March”, we discover that this is all a pretence: behind the mask is a bankrupt who commits a series of sensational crimes to finance his champagne and cigars lifestyle – and his flat in The Albany. What separates Raffles from Holmes is that he’s more recognizably human and fallible – he doesn’t always lift the loot, and bad luck throws him a few curve balls. Whether the setting is an English country house or the Australian outback, Raffles’s diamond-hard determination, his lightning ingenuity and profound knowledge of human nature are always on display, And though he could have been hanged for any one of these crimes, Raffles remains a man you wouldn’t mind sharing a cocktail or two with during a night out on the town.

E.W. Hornung (Author), David Rintoul (Narrator)

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The Adventures of Raffles

"Why should I work when I could steal.’... Thus speaks A.J.Raffles, gentleman, finest slow bowler of his generation and shameless thief. When Bunny, an old school acquaintance, confesses that he will be dishonorably disgraced for writing cheques which 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’, ‘Wilful Murder’ and ‘Nine Points of the Law.’ 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 which the Victorians and succeeding generations , perhaps surprisingly, took to their hearts. " Classics don't have to be long or serious or heavy-going or all three. These stories about the Victorian dandy who has become a byword for quintessential, if not quite establishment, Englishness isn't remotely serious. It's a breeze, a soufflé, a gem. A lot of gems, because to finance his lavish lifestyle, old Harrovian AJ Raffles - who lives in Albany, belongs to the best clubs, plays cricket at Lord's for the Gentlemen against the Players and gambles heavily - is a jewel thief. His first job was a bank, but that was by pure chance, he tells his boggle-eyed trainee accomplice, Bunny, his former fag at Harrow. Raffles's preference is cat burgling, his target the jewellery shops around the corner in Bond Street. Most satisfying of all are the rocks worn by the society hostesses to whose homes he has been invited. Remember Chariots of Fire, when Lord Lindsay trains for the Olympics by leaping over all the brimming champagne glasses balanced by his butler on top of the hurdles? Raffles puts champagne corks on the spikes above steel entry gates, throws his tailcoat over the top and he's off. Peter Joyce has the toff's languid drawl down to a T.

E.W. Hornung (Author), Peter Joyce (Narrator)

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Raffles Run Out

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, 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.

E.W. Hornung (Author), Peter Joyce (Narrator)

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The Complete Raffles

‘Why should I work when I could steal.’ Thus speaks A.J.Raffles, gentleman, finest slow bowler of his generation and shameless thief.When Bunny, an old school acquaintance, confesses that he will be dishonorably disgraced for writing cheques which 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. … but classics don't have to be long or serious or heavy-going or all three. These stories about the Victorian dandy who has become a byword for quintessential, if not quite establishment, Englishness isn't remotely serious. It's a breeze, a soufflé, a gem. Peter Joyce has the toff's languid drawl down to a T. The Guardian

E.W. Hornung (Author), Peter Joyce (Narrator)

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More Raffles

In this, the second collection of Hornungs’ stories to be recorded by Assembled 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. The stories in this collection are; The Return Match, The Gift of the Emperor, No Sinecure, A Jubilee Present, The Fate of Faustina and The Last Laugh.

E.W. Hornung (Author), Peter Joyce (Narrator)

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Raffles: The Third Over

The next volume... in the series of exciting stories about A. J. Raffles, first class slow bowler and gentleman thief. The author must have been delighted when his fictional character was such a success. Raffles would have said ‘timing is everything’ and the advice should have been delivered to his creator. Hornung made a grave error in finishing the master burglars life and career so soon, realised 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! There were eight tales of the upper class anti - hero still to come, soon to be recorded by Assembled Stories, and then Raffles, sadly, was ‘run out’ This collection comprises: To Catch a Thief, An Old Flame, The Wrong House, The Knees of the Gods, Out of Paradise and The Chest of Silver.

E.W. Hornung (Author), Peter Joyce (Narrator)

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