No Sinecure

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"No Sinecure"
Raffles (Scribner 1906) -pg22.png
Raffles and Bunny, 1906 illustration by F. C. Yohn
Author E. W. Hornung
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Series A. J. Raffles
Genre(s) Crime fiction
Publisher Charles Scribner's Sons
Media typePrint (Magazine)
Publication dateJanuary 1901
Preceded by"The Gift of the Emperor"
Followed by"A Jubilee Present"

"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. [1] 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. [2]

Contents

Plot

Part one

It is May 1897. Bunny, now an ex-convict and struggling journalist, receives a telegram from an estranged relative telling him to read an advertisement in the Daily Mail, which says that a man named Mr. Maturin is seeking a male nurse of good education. Bunny answers the advertisement at Maturin's flat, in Earl's Court. He encounters Maturin's doctor, Dr. Theobald, who scrutinizes Bunny and then takes him to Maturin's bedroom to meet the patient.

Bunny sees the ailing Maturin lying in bed. Maturin interviews Bunny. He orders Theobald to leave, then asks Bunny to fetch him his hidden cigarettes. As Maturin smokes, he complains that the cigarettes are not Sullivans; instantly, Bunny realizes that Maturin is his old friend, Raffles.

I cannot repeat what I said. I have no idea what I did. I only know—I only knew—that it was A. J. Raffles in the flesh!

— Bunny, amazed by Raffles's reveal [3]

Part two

Raffles reveals that he is disguising himself as Maturin to maintain the belief that Raffles is dead. Theobald does not know Maturin's true identity. Upon returning to England from Italy, Raffles had written both the advertisement and Bunny's telegram in order to reunite with Bunny. Raffles declares they go to a restaurant that night to celebrate.

Part three

At night, they escape the building using an unwatched staircase from the roof. They ride to the restaurant. Raffles takes Bunny to a private room, and they feast. As they finish, a tradesman named Mr. Robinson arrives. Raffles chooses jewelry from him for Bunny's imaginary sister. Bunny, confused, plays along. In the end, Raffles is unable to pay for his chosen items. Instead, he seals them in a cigarette box and returns them to Robinson: Raffles will send Robinson the money later, after which Robinson will send Raffles the sealed box. Robinson, bewildered by the arrangement, nonetheless agrees.

Later, back at Earl's Court, Raffles reveals to Bunny that he kept the real box, after swapping it with a duplicate. He asks Bunny to sell off the jewelry.

Background

The name Maturin may have been taken from Charles Maturin, writer of the novel Melmoth the Wanderer and great-uncle to Oscar Wilde. While in exile in France in 1897, Wilde went by the name "Sebastian Melmoth" in reference to the novel; this fact may have inspired Hornung to use the name "Maturin" for a Raffles living in social exile. [4]

Adaptations

BBC Radio adapted the story into part of the thirteenth episode of its Raffles radio drama, "No Sinecure", which first aired on 30 July 1992. [5] The drama features Jeremy Clyde as Raffles and Michael Cochrane as Bunny. The first half of the drama closely follows the plot of the original story, with some minor changes:

Related Research Articles

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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

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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.

An Old Flame (short story)

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The Wrong House

"The Wrong House" 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 September 1901. The story was also included as the seventh 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

"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.

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"A Bad Night" 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 June 1905 by Pall Mall Magazine in London. The story was also included as the sixth 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
  1. ↑ William G. Contento (12 August 2017). "Series List". The FictionMags Index. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  2. ↑ Rowland, page 280.
  3. ↑ Hornung, page 15.
  4. ↑ Rowland, page 80.
  5. ↑ Frank M. Passage (20 May 2004). "Raffles". Old-Time Radio. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
Sources
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