A Jubilee Present

"A Jubilee Present"
	Bunny and Raffles, 1906 illustration by F. C. Yohn
Author	E. W. Hornung
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	A. J. Raffles
Genre(s)	Crime fiction
Publisher	Charles Scribner's Sons
Media type	Print (Magazine)
Publication date	February 1901
Preceded by	"No Sinecure"
Followed by	"The Fate of Faustina"

Last updated March 05, 2019

"A Jubilee Present" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in Scribner's Magazine in February 1901.^[1] The story was also included as the second story in the collection The Black Mask , published by Grant Richards in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1901.^[2]

Ernest William Hornung was an English author and poet known for writing the A. J. Raffles series of stories about a gentleman thief in late 19th-century London. Hornung was educated at Uppingham School; as a result of poor health he left the school in December 1883 to travel to Sydney, where he stayed for two years. He drew on his Australian experiences as a background when he began writing, initially short stories and later novels.

Harry Manders is a character in the popular series of Raffles novels by E.W. Hornung. He is the faithful companion of Raffles, a cricketer and gentleman thief, who makes a living robbing the rich in late Victorian British High Society.

Plot

The Room of Gold, in the British Museum, is probably well enough known to the inquiring alien and the travelled American. A true Londoner, however, I myself had never heard of it until Raffles casually proposed a raid.

— Raffles decides to steal from the British Museum^[3]

While walking idly on the roof of their Earl's Court home at midnight with Bunny, Raffles announces they will visit the British Museum to investigate how they can steal its golden trinkets. Bunny is reluctant to steal trinkets, until Raffles tells him that there is a gold cup among the trinkets worth several thousand pounds, and then Bunny becomes even more excited than Raffles.

Earl's Court is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in central London, bordering the sub-districts of South Kensington to the east, West Kensington to the west, Chelsea to the south and Kensington to the north. The Earl's Court Exhibition Centre was one of the country's largest indoor arenas and a popular concert venue until its closure in 2014.

The British Museum, located in the Bloomsbury area of London, in the United Kingdom, is a public institution dedicated to human history, art and culture. Its permanent collection numbers some 8 million works, and is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence having been widely sourced during the era of the British Empire, and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. It is the first national public museum in the world.

The next morning, after a visit to Kew Gardens to maintain the appearance that Raffles is an invalid in need of fresh air, Raffles and Bunny visit the Room of Gold in the British Museum. Bunny is disappointed by the cup's thinness, while Raffles admires its beauty. While Raffles discusses stealing the gold cup, a constable overhears and approaches. After suavely assuaging the constable's fears, Raffles observes that the three of them are alone; the room's attendant who is supposed to be present is down the corridor with speaking to attendant.

To Bunny's surprise, Raffles knocks out the constable with his fists, before the constable can blow his whistle. At Raffles's bidding, Bunny ensures that the two attendants did not hear. Bunny returns to see Raffles's pockets are empty, yet Raffles walks with Bunny slowly out of the museum. They take a roundabout way home using several cabs. At home, Bunny is infuriated that Raffles lied to him about only visiting the museum for the sake of investigating, but Raffles answers that there was no lie, and his intentions only changed because of the rare opportunity of the room's attendant being absent. Raffles has hidden the gold cup underneath his top hat.

Raffles grows infatuated with the cup, and for some time he refuses to part with it. Eventually, however, Raffles sends Bunny to buy a large box of Huntley & Palmers biscuits, as part of a new scheme involving the cup. Raffles packs the gold cup into the box, then disguises himself to pass the porter on his way to dispose of the box. After returning, Raffles reveals to Bunny that he has been to the post office, and sent the cup to Queen Victoria as an anonymous present to mark her Diamond Jubilee.

Huntley & Palmers is a British firm of biscuit makers originally based in Reading, Berkshire. The company created one of the world's first global brands and ran what was once the world’s largest biscuit factory. Over the years, the company was also known as J. Huntley & Son and Huntley & Palmer.

Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. On 1 May 1876, she adopted the additional title of Empress of India.

Adaptations

Television

When adapted for television in 1977 the title was changed to The Gold Cup.

In the television adaptation, a subplot is inserted about a society of criminologists, taken from The Criminologists' Club another Raffles short story.

"The Criminologists' Club" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was published in March 1905 by Collier's Weekly in New York, and in April 1905 by Pall Mall Magazine in London. It was also included as the fourth story in the collection A Thief in the Night, published by Chatto & Windus in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1905.

Radio

BBC Radio adapted the story into the second half of the thirteenth episode of its Raffles radio drama, "No Sinecure", which first aired on 30 July 1992.^[4] The drama features Jeremy Clyde as Raffles and Michael Cochrane as Bunny. The plot faithfully follows that of the original story, with only minimal changes:

Michael Jeremy Thomas Clyde is an English actor and musician. During the 1960s, he was one-half of the folk duo Chad & Jeremy, who had little success in the UK but were an object of interest to American audiences. He has enjoyed a long television acting career and continues to appear regularly, usually playing upper-middle class or aristocratic characters.

Michael Dundonald Cochrane is an English actor who specialises in playing suave upper class characters.

In the original story, Bunny is initially eager to steal the gold cup. In the episode, he is reluctant from the start.
In the episode, the visit to Kew Gardens is for fun only, rather than serving as a blind.
In the episode, Raffles and Bunny have to wait for Dr. Theobald to go on his honeymoon before visiting the British museum. In the original story, Dr. Theobald is already away.
In the original story, Raffles disguises himself to pass the porter on his way to send the gold cup. In the episode, Bunny distracts the porter.

Related Research Articles

Raffles was a 1977 television adaptation of the A. J. Raffles stories by Ernest William Hornung. The series was produced by Yorkshire Television and written by Philip Mackie. The episodes were largely faithful adaptations of the stories in the books, though occasionally two stories would be merged to create one episode such as "The Gold Cup" which featured elements from both "A Jubilee Present" and "The Criminologist's Club". The complete series has been released on DVD.

"The Gift of the Emperor" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in October 1898 by Cassell's Magazine. The story was also included as the eight and last story in the collection The Amateur Cracksman, published by Methuen & Co. Ltd in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1899.

<i>The Black Mask</i> book by Ernest William Hornung

The Black Mask is the second collection of stories written by Ernest William Hornung in the A. J. Raffles series concerning a gentleman thief in late Victorian London. It was first published in 1901.

<i>The Amateur Cracksman</i> book by Ernest William Hornung

The Amateur Cracksman was the original short story collection by E. W. Hornung featuring his most famous character, A. J. Raffles, a gentleman thief in late Victorian Great Britain. It was first published in 1899. The book was very well received and spawned three follow-ups: two more short story collections, The Black Mask (1901) and A Thief in the Night (1904), as well as a full-length novel, Mr. Justice Raffles in 1909.

"A Trap to Catch a Cracksman" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was published in July 1905 by Pall Mall Magazine in London. The story was also included as the seventh story in the collection A Thief in the Night, published by Chatto & Windus in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1905.

"The Raffles Relics" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was published in September 1905 by Pall Mall Magazine in London. The story was also included as the eighth story in the collection A Thief in the Night, published by Chatto & Windus in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1905.

Arthur J. Raffles is a character created in the 1890s by E. W. Hornung, brother-in-law to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Raffles is, in many ways, a deliberate inversion of Holmes – he is a "gentleman thief", living at the Albany, a prestigious address in London, playing cricket for the Gentlemen of England and supporting himself by carrying out ingenious burglaries. He is called the "Amateur Cracksman", and often, at first, differentiates between himself and the "professors" – professional criminals from the lower classes.

"The Ides of March" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and the first appearance of the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in June 1898 by Cassell's Magazine. The story was also included in the collection The Amateur Cracksman, published by Methuen & Co. Ltd in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1899.

"A Costume Piece" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in July 1898 by Cassell's Magazine. The story was also included in the collection The Amateur Cracksman, published by Methuen & Co. Ltd in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1899.

"Gentlemen and Players" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in August 1898 by Cassell's Magazine. The story was also included in the collection The Amateur Cracksman, published by Methuen & Co. Ltd in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1899.

"Nine Points of the Law" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in September 1898 by Cassell's Magazine. The story was also included as the six story in the collection The Amateur Cracksman, published by Methuen & Co. Ltd in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1899.

"The Return Match" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in October 1898 by Cassell's Magazine. The story was also included as the seventh story in the collection The Amateur Cracksman, published by Methuen & Co. Ltd in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1899.

"No Sinecure" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in Scribner's Magazine in January 1901. The story was also included as the first story in the collection The Black Mask, published by Grant Richards in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1901.

"The Last Laugh" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in Scribner's Magazine in April 1901. The story was also included as the fourth story in the collection The Black Mask, published by Grant Richards in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1901.

"To Catch a Thief" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in Scribner's Magazine in May 1901. The story was also included as the fifth story in the collection The Black Mask, published by Grant Richards in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1901.

"An Old Flame" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in Scribner's Magazine in June 1901. The story was also included as the sixth story in the collection The Black Mask, published by Grant Richards in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1901.

"The Knees of the Gods" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published as the eighth and final story in the collection The Black Mask, published by Grant Richards in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1901. It is the only story in the collection that was not first published separately in serial format.

"The Rest Cure" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was published in February 1905 by Collier's Weekly in New York and in March 1905 by Pall Mall Magazine in London. The story was also included as the third story in the collection A Thief in the Night, published by Chatto & Windus in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1905.

"A Trap to Catch a Cracksman" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was published in August 1905 by Pall Mall Magazine in London. The story was also included as the seventh story in the collection A Thief in the Night, published by Chatto & Windus in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1905.

References

Notes

↑ William G. Contento (12 August 2017). "Series List". The FictionMags Index. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
↑ Rowland, page 280.
↑ Hornung, page 40.
↑ Frank M. Passage (20 May 2004). "Raffles". Old-Time Radio. Retrieved 8 October 2017.

Sources

Hornung, E. W. (2009). The Black Mask. Auckland, New Zealand: The Floating Press. ISBN 978-1-775415-09-1.
Rowland, Peter (1999). Raffles and His Creator. London: Nekta Publications. ISBN 0-9533583-2-1.

External links

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Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[1] William G. Contento (12 August 2017). "Series List". The FictionMags Index. Retrieved 22 October 2017.

[2] Rowland, page 280.

[3] Hornung, page 40.

[4] Frank M. Passage (20 May 2004). "Raffles". Old-Time Radio. Retrieved 8 October 2017.

v t e A. J. Raffles
Books	The Amateur Cracksman "The Ides of March" The Black Mask A Thief in the Night Mr. Justice Raffles
Films	The Van Nostrand Tiara (1913) Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1917) Mr. Justice Raffles (1921) Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1925) Raffles (1930) The Return of Raffles (1932) Raffles (1939)
Television series	Raffles (TV series) The Gentleman Thief
Characters	A. J. Raffles Bunny Manders