Gentlemen and Players (short story)

Last updated

"Gentlemen and Players"
Gentleman and Players 01.jpg
1898 Collier's illustration by E. V. Nadherny
Author E. W. Hornung
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Series A. J. Raffles
Genre(s) Crime fiction
Publisher Cassell & Co
Media typePrint (Magazine)
Publication dateAugust 1898
Preceded by"A Costume Piece"
Followed by"Le Premier Pas"

"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 . [1] 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. [2]

Contents

Plot

While Raffles is out during a Gentlemen v Players cricket match at Lord's, a young cricketer named Crowley approaches Raffles. Raffles learns that Crowley's father, Lord Amersteth, is looking for cricketers, such as Raffles, to play on Crowley's team in games celebrating Crowley's twenty-first birthday at his father's estate, Milchester Abbey, in Dorset. Raffles persuades Lord Amersteth to also invite Bunny to play. Bunny, who secretly cannot play cricket, is horrified, but accepts. Raffles returns to the field to bowl, and plays excellently. Afterwards, Raffles reveals that he intends to steal while at Lord Amersteth's.

A month later, Raffles helps Bunny practice cricket. Before they arrive, they briefly take shelter from rain at an inn. However, Raffles immediately leaves the inn at the sight of someone Bunny doesn't recognize.

At Milchester, Bunny is overwhelmed by the prestige of the party, while Raffles mingles easily. At dinner, the rector's talkative daughter confides in Bunny that a Scotland Yard detective is on the lookout for two well-known thieves in the area. Bunny, horrified, thinks that the man at the inn must be the detective. The rector's daughter points out the five thousand pound necklace that one guest, Lady Melrose, is wearing. Bunny is unable to voice his concerns to Raffles for two hours. Meanwhile, Bunny also endures the conversation of a Scottish photographer named Clephane.

"That would be something like a match. Gentlemen and Players at single wicket, by Jove!"

— Raffles, on matching wits with the other thief [3]

Afterwards, Bunny goes to inform Raffles about the detective; however, he discovers Raffles has already been informed by Crowley. Moreover, the detective is actually Clephane, really a disguised Inspector Mackenzie. The man at the inn is a famous thief, and the leader of the gang Mackenzie is after. Raffles is excited by the situation, but Bunny makes Raffles promise not to take any risks.

The week continues normally. Bunny enjoys himself. On the cricket field, a lucky catch early on assures him his pride, despite his mediocre gameplay.

In the very early morning of the final day, Bunny is woken by a fight outside his room. He finds Inspector Mackenzie struggling with one of the waiters. Bunny holds the waiter, and Mackenzie runs downstairs to find the man's accomplices. Crowley and Lord Amersteth appear, followed by Lady Melrose's French maid. She says that Lady Melrose's window is open, and the lady's necklace box is gone. The other cricketers, including Raffles, arrive; Crowley leads them to follow Mackenzie. Bunny and Lord Amersteth drag the waiter downstairs, and give him to two other servants. Then they hear gunshots, and run outside.

They all come upon a wounded Mackenzie. Lord Amersteth reveals to everyone Mackenzie's true identity, and they carry Mackenzie inside. The criminals have escaped with the necklace. After some time, the final game of cricket is cancelled, and most of the cricketers, including Raffles and Bunny, leave by train.

When alone in a hansom, Bunny tells Raffles that he is glad to have been on the side of justice. Raffles, amused, praises the thieves' trick of lowering the jewellery box out of Lady Melrose's window. In fact, Raffles had seen the thieves through his window, and had run to warn the lady, but he could not wake her. Raffles shows Bunny a brief glimpse of Lady Melrose's stolen necklace, removed from its case.

Adaptations

Television

The story was adapted into the pilot episode of the Raffles television series, with Anthony Valentine as A. J. Raffles and Christopher Strauli as Bunny Manders. The episode, titled "The Amateur Cracksman", first aired on 10 September 1975.

Radio

BBC Radio adapted the story into the second episode of its Raffles radio series, "Gentlemen and Players", which first aired on 27 October 1985. [4] The drama features Jeremy Clyde as Raffles and Michael Cochrane as Bunny. The episode closely follows the plot of the original story, with some minor changes:

"Gentlemen and Players" was adapted as the fifth episode of Raffles, the Gentleman Thief , a series on the American radio show Imagination Theatre . The episode first aired in 2005. [5]

Related Research Articles

Raffles stories and adaptations

A. J. Raffles is a British fictional character – a cricketer and gentleman thief – created by E. W. Hornung, who, between 1898 and 1909, wrote a series of 26 short stories, two plays, and a novel about him and his fictional chronicler, Harry "Bunny" Manders.

<i>Raffles</i> (1930 film) 1930 film

Raffles is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy-mystery film produced by Samuel Goldwyn. It stars Ronald Colman as the title character, a proper English gentleman who moonlights as a notorious jewel thief, and Kay Francis as his love interest. It is based on the play Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1906) by E. W. Hornung and Eugene Wiley Presbrey, which was in turn adapted from the 1899 short story collection of the same name by Hornung.

<i>Raffles</i> (1939 film) 1939 film by Sam Wood

Raffles is a 1939 American crime comedy film starring David Niven and Olivia de Havilland, and is one of several film adaptations of an 1899 short story collection by E. W. Hornung, The Amateur Cracksman.

<i>Raffles</i> (TV series) 1977 British television series

Raffles is a 1977 television series adapted from the A. J. Raffles stories by E. W. Hornung. The stories were adapted by Philip Mackie.

<i>Mr. Justice Raffles</i>

Mr. Justice Raffles is a 1909 novel written by E.W. Hornung. It featured his popular character A. J. Raffles a well-known cricketer and gentleman thief. It was the fourth and last in his four Raffles books which had begun with The Amateur Cracksman in 1899. The novel was published in the UK by Smith, Elder & Co., London, and in the US by Scribner's, New York.

Bunny Manders

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

The Gift of the Emperor

"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 Amateur Cracksman</i>

The Amateur Cracksman is an 1899 short story collection by E. W. Hornung. It was published in the UK by Methuen & Co., London, and in the US by Scribner's, New York. Many later editions expand the title to Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman. Some editions such as Penguin Books, 1948, retitle the collection simply, Raffles.

A Trap to Catch a Cracksman

"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 Criminologists Club

"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.

<i>Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman</i> (1925 film) 1925 film

Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1925) is a feature length silent adventure crime drama/romance motion picture starring House Peters, Miss DuPont, Hedda Hopper, Fred Esmelton and Walter Long.

<i>Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman</i> (1917 film) 1917 film by George Irving

Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman is a 1917 American silent film starring John Barrymore and Evelyn Brent. The movie also co-stars Frank Morgan and Mike Donlin, and was directed by George Irving. The film has been released on DVD.

The Return of A. J. Raffles, first produced and published in 1975, is an Edwardian comedy play in three acts, written by Graham Greene and based somewhat loosely on E. W. Hornung's characters in The Amateur Cracksman. Set in the late summer of the year 1900, the story revolves around the infamous burglar and cricketer, A. J. Raffles—presumed dead in the Boer War—who returns to Albany where, with his friends Bunny and Lord Alfred Douglas, he plots to rob the Marquess of Queensberry, partly for the money and partly for revenge against the Marquess for his treatment of their friend Oscar Wilde. The robbery takes place at the Marquess' house in Hertfordshire, where Raffles and Bunny are interrupted by the Prince of Wales and a Scotland Yard detective, who discover the Prince's personal letters have also been stolen.

A. J. Raffles (character) Character in the works of E. W. Hornung

Arthur J. Raffles is a fictional character created in 1898 by E. W. Hornung, brother-in-law to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Raffles is, in many ways, an inversion of Holmes – he is a "gentleman thief", living at the Albany, a prestigious address in London, playing cricket as a gentleman 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 him and the "professors" – professional criminals from the lower classes.

The Ides of March (short story)

"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.

Wilful Murder (short story)

"Wilful Murder" 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 fifth part of the collection The Amateur Cracksman, published by Methuen & Co. Ltd in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1899. This and "Le Premier Pas" were the two stories in the collection not published previously in magazine format.

The Return Match

"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.

To Catch a Thief (short story)

"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.

The Chest of Silver

"The Chest of Silver" 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 January 1905 by Collier's Weekly in New York, and in February 1905 by Pall Mall Magazine in London. It was also included as the second 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.

<i>Raffles</i> (radio series)

Raffles is a British radio programme including eighteen episodes that first aired on BBC Radio 4 from 1985 to 1992, and an additional radio play that aired in 1993 on the BBC World Service. The series was directed by Gordon House and was based on the A. J. Raffles stories by author E. W. Hornung.

References

Notes
  1. Rowland, page 283.
  2. Rowland, page 280.
  3. Hornung (1899), p. 101
  4. Frank M. Passage (20 May 2004). "Raffles". Old-Time Radio. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  5. Wright, Stewart (30 April 2019). "Raffles, the Gentleman Thief: Broadcast Log" (PDF). Old Time Radio. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
Sources