Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (Crime Classics)

Raffles is a public-school cad and master burglar, with an aptitude for cricket and a passion for crime - a loveable rogue who steals from the rich not to give to the poor, but rather to subsidize his own splendid lifestyle (he has an unimpeachable address at Albany in St James'). Along with his sidekick - his former schoolmate and fellow gambler Harry 'Bunny' Masters - he embarks on a series of thefts. But will they get away with it?

First published in 1899, Raffles was an immediate success. With Raffles, the scoundrel-in-an-evening-suit, Hornung created an irresistible alternative to Sherlock Holmes.