Circumstances prevent raffles from testing this theory, but its clear that the possibility of being caught adds zest to raffles exploits. They soon learn that two other thieves are also there, as is the. In 1900, they decide to volunteer for service in the war, leaving england in. Mar 14, 2018 raffles and bunny travel to a country estateostensibly for a week of cricketwith a plan to steal a priceless diamond necklace. Jan 04, 2011 1863 arthur j aj raffles is born 1867 harry bunny mathers is born 1880 raffles and bunny meet it a public school 1882 le pre. Ive been an avid fan of both sherlock holmes and aj raffles for as long as i was able to read. Bunny is asleep and raffles is musing on the exact nature of their relationship and what it is he feels for bunny and whether it is time to end what they have. Title is the dedication of the amateur cracksman from e. A true ensemble piece, the return of a j raffles is performed by a cast of ten, directed by palace theatre assistant director deborah shaw, in a way that keeps the plot and play moving and achieving the comedic aspect through straight to character play, blissfully avoiding any farcical overplay. The gentleman thief and his side kick harry bunny manders michael cochrane were created by. When bunny and watson turn up at berties flat unannounced and in search of their runaway partners, bertie and jeeves are treated to the story of how consulting detective sherlock holmes and gentleman thief a. If you walk down londons piccadilly, you come across an elegant georgian building set back from the constant stream of traffic. Exceptional cricketer a dangerous bat, a brilliant field and perhaps the finest slow bowler of his decade. Hornung, who, between 1898 and 1909, wrote a series of 26 short stories, two plays, and a novel about him and his fictional chronicler, harry bunny manders.
Its time for aj raffles to emerge from the shadow of. Hornung wrote a series of twentysix short stories and one novel about the adventures of arthur j. Bunny, of course, is deeply infatuated with raffles, his. Hornungs characters or if youre familiar with lawrence blocks burgling bernie rhodenbarr. The albany head porter, smith, says a man in tweeds with a grey beard wants to see bunny. Hornung, who, between 1898 and 1909, wrote a series of 26 short stories, two plays, and a novel about him and his fictional chronicler, harry bunny manders the first story, the ides of march, appeared in the june 1898 edition of cassells magazine. In june we will be reading the return of a j raffles by graham greene. Jul 01, 2014 for weeks, bunny manders has scoured the sporting papers, looking for word of his vanished friendthe cricketer, playboy, and gentleman thief a. The television show raffles tells of aj raffles who is a jewel thief. Raffles and bunny act as amateur gentleman thieves and rob wealthy members of london society while appearing respectable. That raffles saves bunny by roping him into a life. Alternately aided and hindered by his old friend, bunny manders, raffles cuts a dashing swathe across edwardian england, helping himself to the baubles of the very rich. Raffles meets his future biographer harry bunny manders when at half past midnight a semihysterical bunny returns to a. Throughout the late nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century detective and mystery fiction were dominated by one character as never before or since.
Bunny thinks raffles is the most wonderful boy he has ever seen and to his surprise raffles is more than a little fascinated by bunny. He leant his athletic suntanned figure against the fire place and in. Mar 14, 2018 raffles is visited by his old school chum, bunny manders, who has fallen on hard times. Raffles managed to escape by jumping over the side and swimming the ten miles to elba, but bunny was arrested trying to stop the policeman. In this episode raffles and bunny fail to score during a burglary on an unscrupulous moneylender.
Its time for aj raffles to emerge from the shadow of sherlock. His adventures are detailed by his friend his watson, bunny. Inspired by the unusually large amount of burglaries that went on in the area, raffles would go on nocturnal trips to infiltrate various pubs. After raffles fakes his death a second time in an old flame, they move to a cottage owned by a genial landlady on the edge of ham common, where raffles pretends he is bunny s brother ralph. The ides of march takes place in march 1891 according to biographer peter rowland. Alternately aided and hindered by his old friend, bunny manders, raffles cuts a dashing swathe across edwardian england, helping himself to the baubles of the very rich, sometimes playing amateur sleuth or crime fighter, and generally enjoying himself. Hornung to his brotherinlaw, sir arthur conan doyle. This might be a throwback but the idea of a gentleman thief, a man who is only permitted in aristocratic circles for his talent as a sportsman, stealing from the rich gentry in order to right the wrong of unfair wealth distribution is charmingly relevant. A mysterious message lures bunny to a darkened side street, where he finds raffles in filthy clothes, with an unkempt beard. Raffles, handsome, charming, debonair, and an outstanding cricketer, is welcome in the homes of the wealthiest. By contrast, our watsonlike narrator bunny manders is both more moral and more cowardly. Penniless himself, raffles comes up with a scheme to pay off bunnys gambling debt by getting the money from. Bunny and raffles had a homosexual relationship, and bunny tells lord alfred he is still always faithful to raffles.
With anthony valentine, christopher strauli, victor brooks, victor carin. Raffles, fictional character, a charming thief who was originally featured in a series of short stories by e. Alternately aided and hindered by his old friend, bunny manders, raffles cuts a dashing swathe across edwardian england, helping himself to the baubles of the very. 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. Aj raffles was a victorian gentleman leading a double life, having to conceal his real nature for fear of scandal. His sharp penetrating bluegrey eyes glinted mischievously in the light, reminding me of the sea on a foggy morning as he brushed back a luxurious raven lick of curls from his handsome angular face with one of his strong but slender hands. Raffles only as a gentleman of leisure and a toprated cricketer, but he is also the amateur cracksman, an expert jewel thief. Penniless himself, raffles comes up with a scheme to pay off bunny s gambling debt by getting the money from. Raffles and bunny travel to a country estateostensibly for a week of cricketwith a plan to steal a priceless diamond necklace.
Raffles was to a certain extent an inverted version of arthur conan doyles character sherlock holmes, and bunny, as the companion and biographer of raffles, was similarly inspired by dr. Hundreds of pounds in the red, bunny grows so desperate that he asks raffles, a former classmate who captained their public schools cricket team, for help. It had snowed that day but the sky was clear for our walk, stars and moon. Starring jeremy clyde as aj raffles, michael cochrane as bunny manders, christopher benjamin as colonel crutchley, laurence payne as the porter and. Raffles first matched wits, a quarter of a century ago. Raffles, a cricketer and gentleman thief, who makes a living robbing the rich in late victorian british high society. If he sounds a lot like aj raffles, thats because he is in. Raffles is a fictional character created in 1898 by e.
Raffles is a british fictional character a cricketer and gentleman thief created by e. In the story we are introduced to bunny manders, the narrator. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Bunny, of course, is deeply infatuated with raffles, his byronic antihero and wishfulfilment alter ego. In the end, the penitent thief, hair white from his anxieties, gave his life in the service of his country during the boer war, as a final act of redemption. Bunnys mood had been dropping all the way back to the albany, which was my fault.
By day, aj raffles is a debonair manabouttown and one of englands finest cricketers. An archive of our own, a project of the organization for transformative works. He dreads exposure, and his conscience needles him every time he participates in one of raffles crimes. This tv series stays fairly true to the characters of raffles and bunny the criminal version of sherlock and watson, but most would only appreciate this short lived series if they were familiar with e. Gentleman thief raffles is daring, debonair, devilishly handsomeand a firstrate cricketer. Owen dudley edwards wrote that raffles and bunny are an imitation of holmes and watson which is very obviously homosexual, while c. Only raffles friend and chronicler, bunny manders knows the truth about him. Raffles left a will leaving bunny everything, including the albany chambers. Six raffles stories new to bbc radio 4 extra with jeremy clyde as the eponymous hero, aj raffles. Its high time aj raffles elegant, loyal and the ultimate gentleman thief emerged from the shadow of sherlock holmes. The twentysix short stories and one novel written round the turn of the century 18981909 by e. Exploits of aj raffles and his bunny before the gentleman thief arsene lupin, there was a.
Summary lord, bunny, what a one you are for melodrama, wandering around in a blizzard and then throwing yourself on my highly dubious mercy. In these eight stories, the master burglar indulges his passion for cricket and crime. The characters of raffles and bunny were possibly inspired by his brotherinlaws creations, sherlock holmes and dr. Bbc news tv and radio bunny stolen from gentleman thief. Raffles, cricketeer and gentleman thief, and his chronicler, harry bunny manders. In december 1899, raffles and bunny become interested in the boer war.
Bunny confessing to fellow gambler and old schoolmate a. Raffles, a gentleman thief, were set in late 19th century london. Harry manders almost exclusively known as bunny manders is a fictional character in the popular series of raffles stories by e. May 9, 2016 explore livielightyears board aj raffles. If bbc ones latest series gentleman thief sunday, 21.
His friend bunny helps him as they go across england in order to get their hands on the best jewelry and most valuable stones. Raffles amateur cracksman and gentleman crook, and his biographer bunny manders, are introduced in this story by arthur conan doyles brotherinlaw. He was a prominent cricketer and a notorious burglar. Raffles, the amateur cracksman 1917 directed by george.
The series ends with both raffles and bunny getting shot in the. Taken together, raffles and bunny represent a peculiarly european phenomenon, upper class gentlemen who are too poor to afford the polite society into which they have been born and to well brought up to work. See more ideas about gentleman, anthony valentine and. Raffles went to a small public school in 1880, where he first met his future colleague, harry bunny manders, when he fagged for him. From his first appearance in 1899, raffles, along with his sidekick bunny manders, was ew hornungs alternative to the rapiersharp genius of. In 1975 however, graham greene decided that raffles had faked his death and returned to england, to set out on one final crime with his friend bunny. The raffles stories are narrated by his accomplice and former schoolmate bunny. Raffles is visited by his old school chum, bunny manders, who has fallen on hard times.
Raffles was a gentleman thief, invented by the early edwardian author e w hornung. Raffles and his friend bunny manders was published as the amateur cracksman in 1899. At times he even helps the police put his competition behind bars. The stories were told by bunny manders, formerly raffles fag at school and now his colleague in crime.
When raffles hesitates, bunny pulls a gun out of his coat. Raffles and bunny meet for the first time before they meet at school. Chronology of aj raffles, the amateur cracksman 1863 arthur j aj raffles is born 1867 harry bunny mathers is born 1880 raffles and bunny meet it a public school 1882 le premier pas 1891 sunday, march 15. Hornung remains, like his brotherinlaws creation of sherlock holmes, one of the more endearing characters in english. I think i may claim that his famous character raffles was a kind of inversion of sherlock holmes, bunny playing watson.
And barraclough would stay as he is in the 1939 film, with e. Hornung that appeared in the strand and other popular british magazines beginning in the late 1880s. Unknown to his friends, raffles is also a daring cat burglar who steals for the thrills and danger. Bunny shows lord alfred some of raffless burglary tools. Raffles, such a moment comes when a bad night at the baccarat tables threatens to end in suicide.
1449 1093 1057 239 224 1393 1265 1412 839 1615 904 410 847 408 1113 377 1291 906 544 52 403 1139 646 1029 1080 55 814 1490 176 26 687 433 845 792 888 1064 81 304 516