Raffles (character)

Last updated
Lord Lister in action, ca 1908. PL Lord Lister -01- Postrach Londynu (color version).jpg
Lord Lister in action, ca 1908.

Raffles (also known as Lord Lister) is a fictional character who first appeared in a German pulp magazine entitled "Lord Lister, genannt Raffles, der Meisterdieb" ("Lord Lister, called Raffles, the master thief") published in 1908, [1] written by Kurt Matull and Theo Blakensee. [2] The series was continued after a few issues as "Lord Lister, genannt Raffles, der große Unbekannte" ("...Known as Raffles, the Great Unknown"), which was the title of the first novel. The series became very popular and was translated, as well as continued in a number of countries and achieved such a popularity that Raffles was used in an Italian series as an opponent for Nick Carter, as Carter's European equivalent, a context in which he has been described as Europe's greatest pulp hero. Unlike Nick Carter, Lord Lister was never thoroughly updated. The Dutch series was the last surviving one, ending in 1968. The first English translation of The Great Unknown was published in February 2015.

Contents

Countries in which Raffles was published

Germany

In Germany the original series published by Verlag Gustav Müller & Co in Berlin, trying to cash in on the popularity of A.J. Raffles with a similar character, ran for 110 weekly issues and ended with the marriage of Lord Lister in 1910. Issues were still sold into the first years of the First World War. The series was republished, incompletely, during the interbellum period (1919-1939).

Denmark

Denmark produced more than 144 Lord Lister stories.

France

In France the real name of Lord Lister was changed to John C. Sinclair. Copyright reasons involving A.J. Raffles have been used as an explanation for that. For some reason this version seems to be the "authentic" version to Wold Newton Universe researchers, rather than the original German or the longest lasting Dutch version.

Malaysia

Cheritera Kechurian Lima Million Ringgit written by Muhammad bin Muhammad Said is considered the first Malaysian detective novel and features as foil for Nick Carter the famous heroic English thief John C. Sinclair (see France), as well as his arch enemy Baxter.

Netherlands

Publication of the original German series in a biweekly Dutch translation started in 1910 (Source: Lord Listerklub). The original series was followed by 16 issues (or 15, the Lord Listerklub lists #119 as "never seen yet") by an unknown author, in which many of the stories were situated in the Netherlands. From June 14, 1923, the first issue, "De Onbekende", appeared as a feuilleton in the newspaper Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad. Starting with #127 the stories were written by Felix Hageman as an uncredited author. Starting with #514 more or less updated and renamed reprints of Dutch and German stories appeared in the series, mixed with new stories. The last new stories were published in the early 1930s.

In 1938 a certain P. Sonnega wrote rather positively about Raffles in an article titled Die Detectiveroman (That Detective Novel) appearing in De Groene Amsterdammer of 15 January 1938, in which he, after making clear that one could be both an intellectual and a Lord Lister fan, described Raffles as a fascinating figure in evening costume wearing a cape with a red silk lining. This infuriated Felix Hageman and after having kept his identity as Lord Lister author a secret for almost a quarter of a century, as he was not very proud about this part of his penmanship, he made his identity public in a reaction to De Groene Amsterdammer to strengthen his claim that Lord Lister would never wear a cape with a red lining, but would as a gentleman always wear a cape with a white silk lining. Nevertheless, in 1940 the Dutch poet-journalist-critic Halbo C. Kool published his own story "Lord Lister en de toverspiegel" ("Lord Lister and the Magic Mirror"). [3]

The Second World War meant a publication stop for the series. Publication was resumed in 1946. In 1954 the publication of different versions for Flanders and the Netherlands was started. The differences between the national versions was however limited to the price (different currencies) and the # of the issue (Belgium started with #3000, while the Dutch series had that issue as #2228). A similar jump in numbers to indicate a new series had been made after the war as well, when over 600 issue #'s were skipped to start the new series with # 2001.

The last Lord Lister "Het Kostbare Parelsnoer" appeared at the end of 1967 as #3687 in Belgium and in January 1968 as #2915 in the Netherlands.

Belgium

A Belgian re-edition in French language has been published by Claude Lefrancq Editeur ( Brussels) in 1995 (Vol.I) and 1996 (Vol.II), Editor Yves Varende authoring an erudite introduction and foreword about the topic.

Spain

The Spanish edition, "Lord Lister conocido por Raffles el Rey de los Ladrones" was published by Editorial Atlante, Barcelona, in 1910, and ran 68 issues. A new series, "Nuevas Proeza de John C. Raffles" was published by Ediciones Marco, circa 1930, and ran at least 31 issues.

Argentina

Publisher Editorial Atlante, Barcelona, sold an abridged version of its 1910 Spanish translations in Argentina, reprinting the original covers with a white border and starting with Spanish issue No. 4 "El Tesoro en un sarcófago" ("The Treasure in the Coffin") renumbered as No. 1 by placing a printed sticker over the original number.

The character Lord Lister

Raffles was a Victorian era gentleman thief and a born member of nobility. The first issue of the original German series reveals that the notorious thief John C. Raffles is really Lord Edward Lister.

A number of different, somewhat conflicting origin stories exist to explain why a genuine Lord would become a thief, involving having been robbed from his inheritance, poverty in childhood, boredom or overindulgence in charity. With his secret identity exposed Raffles is forced to create and maintain a large number of false ones, of which the main one is Lord William Aberdeen. Depending on the origin story this title could be genuine, the name and identity are false.

The character, though originally a sort of a hero villain, grew more and more into a heroic character, a thief, certainly, but a thief like Robin Hood, embodiment of the ideals of the nobility, protecting the weak, punishing and reforming the bad guys (by theft), supporting the poor and often curing the ill. Raffles is a medical doctor, a chemist, an engineer and an inventor. That combination results in his most remarkable ability: Raffles can by means of his medical/chemical knowledge change the colour and texture of his hair and his skin and the colour of his eyes. He used this ability almost exclusively for his own disguises, combined with more conventional disguise tricks. As a result of this his true age is always somewhat unclear. As a very handsome and muscular man he cannot disguise himself as a female person convincingly, unlike his companions, be it that Henderson seems always a remarkably tall and muscular lady. Raffles cannot be hypnotised by normal means, but can hypnotise people himself. Raffles speaks quite some languages, including Dutch, French, Russian and Hungarian. Considering less exceptional abilities, they can be simply summarized by stating that, but for eating with chopsticks, Raffles can do everything.

For a Victorian gentleman, Lord Lister is refreshingly free from racist views. A World War I-induced dislike towards Germans is present in Hageman's version of the character. Scenes in which topless ladies occur are sometimes noticeable, but those scenes are rather free from erotic implications, as they tend to involve Raffles as a doctor or a detective discovering something clearly of great importance. As such the series was seen as one of the better pulps, not unfit for children.

His arch-enemy is the rather incompetent inspector Baxter (Scotland Yard), whose more competent assistant is an admirer of Raffles.

Sidekicks to Raffles are the giant James Henderson, his driver and servant, and Charles Brand, his secretary, financial manager and friend. Henderson is very strong, he lifts 800 kg with ease and a good hand-to-hand fighter. Charles Brand however is the best shot and the fastest runner of the three, as well as the only one who can disguise himself convincingly as a girl or a woman. Relations between the three are warm, but Lord Lister is the master.

In the first story, "Der grosse Unbekannte" ("The Great Unknown") Sherlock Holmes has sent a letter to his foil Scotland Yard's Captain Baxter declining aiding in capturing Raffles, since he finds it amusing that the police can't capture him.

Related Research Articles

Pulp magazines were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazines printed on higher-quality paper were called "glossies" or "slicks". The typical pulp magazine had 128 pages; it was 7 inches (18 cm) wide by 10 inches (25 cm) high, and 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) thick, with ragged, untrimmed edges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dime novel</span> Type of cheap popular fiction in the U.S.

The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S. popular fiction issued in series of inexpensive paperbound editions. The term dime novel has been used as a catchall term for several different but related forms, referring to story papers, five- and ten-cent weeklies, "thick book" reprints, and sometimes early pulp magazines. The term was used as a title as late as 1940, in the short-lived pulp magazine Western Dime Novels. In the modern age, the term dime novel has been used to refer to quickly written, lurid potboilers, usually as a pejorative to describe a sensationalized but superficial literary work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Shadow</span> Fictional character

The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter B. Gibson, The Shadow has been adapted into other forms of media, including American comic books, comic strips, television, serials, video games, and at least five feature films. The radio drama include episodes voiced by Orson Welles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raffles stories and adaptations</span> Fictional short story character

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Carter (literary character)</span> Fictional detective

Nick Carter is a fictional character who began as a dime novel private detective in 1886 and has appeared in a variety of formats over more than a century. The character was first conceived by Ormond G. Smith and created by John R. Coryell. Carter headlined his own magazine for years, and was then part of a long-running series of novels from 1964 to 1990. Films were created based on Carter in France, Czechoslovakia and Hollywood. Nick Carter has also appeared in many comic books and in radio programs.

Nick Carter is an Italian comic strip created in 1972 as a semi-animated cartoon, for Gulp!, one of the most popular Italian TV shows of that decade. The creators were Guido De Maria, as director and writer, and Franco Bonvicini ("Bonvi"), as co-writer and artist. The first run comprised 11 stories, later reissued, as print comic strips for Il Corriere dei Ragazzi, and then in numerous other magazines and books.

<i>The Phantom Detective</i> Pulp hero magazine

The Phantom Detective was the second pulp hero magazine published, after The Shadow. The first issue was released in February 1933, a month before Doc Savage, which was released in March 1933. The title continued to be released until 1953, with a total 170 issues. This is the third highest number of issues for a character pulp, after The Shadow, which had 325 issues, and Doc Savage, which had 181. In western titles, Texas Rangers would have around 212 issues of their main character, known as the Lone Wolf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. Hoffmann Price</span> American novelist

Edgar Hoffmann Price was an American writer of popular fiction for the pulp magazine marketplace. He collaborated with H. P. Lovecraft on "Through the Gates of the Silver Key".

<i>Conan</i> (short story collection) Short story collection

Conan is a 1967 collection of seven fantasy short stories and associated pieces written by Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories were originally published in various pulp magazines. The book was first published in paperback by Lancer Books in 1967, and was reprinted in 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 (twice) and 1973. After the bankruptcy of Lancer, publication was taken over by Ace Books. Its first edition appeared in May 1977, and was reprinted in 1979, 1982 (twice), 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1990. The first British edition was issued by Sphere Books in 1974, and was reprinted in 1977. The book has also been translated into German, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish and Dutch. It was gathered together with Conan of Cimmeria and Conan the Freebooter into the omnibus collection The Conan Chronicles.

<i>Doctor Death</i> (magazine) US pulp science fiction magazine

Doctor Death was the title of a short-lived pulp science fiction magazine published by Dell Magazines in 1935, as well as the name of the main character featured in that magazine. Doctor Death was an archcriminal who wanted to return the world to a primitive condition and used supernatural tools such as zombies and magic in his plots against humanity. The stories were written by Harold Ward under the pseudonym of "Zorro". Dell may have intended Doctor Death to be a continuation of a character of the same name in All Detective Magazine, also published by Dell.

<i>Detective Story Magazine</i> American pulp magazine

Detective Story Magazine was an American magazine published by Street & Smith from October 15, 1915, to Summer, 1949. It was one of the first pulp magazines devoted to detective fiction and consisted of short stories and serials. While the publication was the publishing house's first detective-fiction pulp magazine in a format resembling a modern paperback, Street & Smith had only recently ceased publication of the dime-novel series Nick Carter Weekly, which concerned the adventures of a young detective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Criminologists' Club</span> Short story by E.W. Hornung

"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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. J. Raffles (character)</span> 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 of 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gentlemen and Players (short story)</span> Short story by E. W. Hornung

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilful Murder (short story)</span> Short story by E. W. Hornung

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">To Catch a Thief (short story)</span> Short story by E. W. Hornung

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Out of Paradise</span> Short story by E. W. Hornung

"Out of Paradise" 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 December 1904 by Collier's Weekly in New York, and in January 1905 by Pall Mall Magazine in London. The story was also included as the first 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rest Cure (short story)</span> Short story by E. W. Hornung

"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.

<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

  1. J.K. Van Dover (26 November 2014). The Judge Dee Novels of R.H. van Gulik: The Case of the Chinese Detective and the American Reader. McFarland. p. 32. ISBN   978-1-4766-1741-1 . Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  2. "John Raffles". International Catalogue of Superheroes. Retrieved 2020-10-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. In: Het boek van de Prinses voor het Roode Kruis. Introd. Prinses Juliana (Jac. v. Kampen, Amsterdam 1940), pp. 167-172.