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A review by bellisk
Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman by E.W. Hornung
2.0
The stories in this book were fun, and the relationship between the close, cunning Raffles and his accomplice Bunny, less sure of himself and worried about his disintegrating moral standing, was amusing. I also enjoyed that several of the stories, and the collection itself (the stories in which are chronological and develop from one another), didn't go quite the way I expected: I understand that there are further Raffles stories after this first book, and I wonder how they will go on from here!
Not having read the Wikipedia page, which includes a description of Raffles and Bunny as "an imitation of Holmes and Watson which is very obviously homosexual" (Owen Dudley Edwards), I was surprised at how suggestive the stories were. Here's Bunny, angry with Raffles for keeping him in the dark and in the throes of (textual) jealousy that his friend has been flirting with a girl, my emphasis:
This is the same story in which Raffles, and, though he doesn't hide , I couldn't think where else he was going to put it...
Unfortunately, though Bunny and Raffles' genteel manners and lifestyle have become more charming with age, the racism in these pieces has *not*. I would advise just not reading 'A Costume Piece', in which a South African diamond baron and his black manservants come to town, as that's the worst one, but it's not the only place where descriptions that are unpleasant to a modern reader crop up.
Spoiler
Raffles bodging his surveillance of the diamond millionaire's residence in only the second adventure, 'A Costume Piece', leading to the pair only just getting out with their lives, and his dramatic confession and escape in the final story, 'The Gift of the Emperor'.Not having read the Wikipedia page, which includes a description of Raffles and Bunny as "an imitation of Holmes and Watson which is very obviously homosexual" (Owen Dudley Edwards), I was surprised at how suggestive the stories were. Here's Bunny, angry with Raffles for keeping him in the dark and in the throes of (textual) jealousy that his friend has been flirting with a girl, my emphasis:
"Then you should have let me know when you did decide. You lay your plans, and never say a word, and expect me to tumble to them by light of nature. How was I to know you had anything on?"
I had turned the tables with some effect. Raffles almost hung his head.
"The fact is, Bunny, I didn't mean you to know. You—you've grown such a pious rabbit in your old age!"
My nickname and his tone went far to mollify me, other things went farther, but I had much to forgive him still.
This is the same story in which Raffles
Spoiler
strips stark naked to rob a fellow passengerSpoiler
a giant pearl up his arseUnfortunately, though Bunny and Raffles' genteel manners and lifestyle have become more charming with age, the racism in these pieces has *not*. I would advise just not reading 'A Costume Piece', in which a South African diamond baron and his black manservants come to town, as that's the worst one, but it's not the only place where descriptions that are unpleasant to a modern reader crop up.