Mr. Justice Raffles

Description

Written in 1909, Mr. Justice Raffles by E. W. Hornung features a gentleman thief and cricketer as its protagonist – a character worthy of ArseneLupin, a similarly elegant and ingenious burglar featured in stories published in the same period, but one who has become much more famous as well as the ingenious criminals featured in Conan Doyle novels.

The novel is quick-paced and action-packed, complete with roof-top escapes and other, very exciting scenes – an exhilaratingstory for readers of any age. Raffles sets out to help his young friend, Teddy Garland, who is facing financial problems. He has been trapped by a notorious money lender who has given the young man money and charges exorbitant interest rates, but Raffles decides to teach him a lesson – small wonder his first name implies that he will be the one doing Justic e. The loan shark, however, is very clever as well, so Raffles meets his match.

The book is intriguing on multiple levels. It turns the very genre of crime upside down – it is not an ingenious investigator who catches the bad guy, but a notorious burglar who claims the role of the judge for himself. The novel still retains some of the most important features of the genre – the story teller is a Dr. Watson-like character, Justice Raffles’ other friend, Bunny, and just like Dr. Watson, he is not very brilliant either Hornung was, after all, Conan Doyle’s friend and brother-in-law as well).

Hornung is considered to be the master of the short story, but this book proves that he mastered the art of writing full-length novels as well. This is the fourth and last story in the Raffles series and Hornung’s only novel – a gripping read that entertains with unpredictable turns and proves that Hornung was not only a master of storytelling, but also a master of details.
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