E. W. Hornung 
Mr. Justice Raffles (Annotated) 

• This edition includes the following editor’s analysis: Can Arthur J. Raffles be compared to Sherlock Holmes?

First published in 1909, “Mr. Justice Raffles” is a novel written by E. W. Hornung featuring his popular character A. J. Raffles, a well-known cricketer and gentleman thief. “Mr. Justice Raffles” was the fourth and last in his four Raffles books which had begun with “The Amateur Cracksman” in 1899.



Unlike the three previous books, the novel was a full-length novel and featured darker elements than the earlier collections of short stories. In it a jaded Raffles is growing increasingly cynical about British high society. He encounters Dan Levy, an unscrupulous moneylender, who manages to entrap a number of young men, mostly sons of the wealthy, by giving them loans and then charging huge amounts of interest. Raffles takes it upon himself to teach Levy a lesson…



“Mr. Justice Raffles” was later made into a movie, as well as a British television series.



Arthur J. Raffles appears in three other works (
three short story collections published by e Pemba Books) by E. W. Hornung:

• “The Amateur Cracksman” (1899, 8 short stories)


• “The Black Mask” (1901, 8 short stories)


• “A Thief in the Night” (1905, 10 short stories)