To Catch a Thief (short story)

"To Catch a Thief"
	Lord Ernest, Raffles, and Bunny, 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	May 1901
Preceded by	"The Last Laugh"
Followed by	"An Old Flame"

Last updated March 07, 2019

"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.^[1] 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.^[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

Part one

"Society is in rings like a target, and we never were in the bull's-eye, however thick you may lay on the ink! I was asked for my cricket. I haven't forgotten it yet. But this fellow's one of themselves, with the right of entrée into the houses which we could only 'enter' in a professional sense."

— Raffles, comparing himself and Bunny to Lord Ernest^[3]

While dining at a restaurant, Raffles and Bunny discuss a recent series of unsolved robberies that have victimized London's wealthiest houses. Raffles suspects the burglar is really a society gentleman who steals while attending social functions. Raffles has used this suspicion, and the lists of names of social function's attendees printed in the Morning Post, to deduce the burglar's identity: Lord Ernest Belville, a relatively poor yet respected society man, and a well-known advocate for temperate drinking.

Raffles, in the disguise of a reporter, has interviewed Lord Ernest. Raffles deduced that Lord Ernest meant to steal diamonds from a lady shortly. That night, Raffles and Bunny will access Lord Ernest's flat and wait until Lord Ernest returns, then blackmail him into partnership.

Part two

At King John's Mansions, after waiting for Lord Ernest to leave, Raffles and Bunny gain admittance using Raffles's duplicate key made from a secret wax impression. They search his rooms and stumble upon two wooden clubs, whose weights are unequal. With Bunny's help, Raffles opens each with a gimlet, and finds Lord Ernest's stolen jewelry. They agree to run away with the spoils.

However, Lord Ernest suddenly returns home. Raffles, feigning to be a Scotland Yard detective, pretends to arrest Lord Ernest. Raffles then passes his bared revolver to Bunny, and leaves on the pretense of calling a cab. When they are alone, Lord Ernest overpowers Bunny, and knocks him out.

Part three

Bunny, now injured, wakes to see Raffles. Lord Ernest has evidently fled through the window. Raffles and Bunny leave with the jewelry in their pockets, and return to the roof of their home, where Bunny stays and waits for Raffles to fetch them drinks and chairs.

However, Lord Ernest appears from the darkness with a gun. He handcuffs Bunny to a bridge connecting two roofs. An unsuspecting Raffles returns, to be pinned by Lord Ernest's revolver. Lord Ernest reveals that he had secretly remained in his flat's bathroom, and had overheard them. Meanwhile, a storm begins to rain on them.

Raffles, remaining calm, proposes partnership, but Lord Ernest refuses to release Bunny. The rain puts out the light of Raffles's candle, and in the darkness Raffles uses flashes of lightning to jump to Bunny. Lord Ernest jumps after him. Raffles makes it, but Lord Ernest missteps, and falls to his death. Raffles slips Bunny free using soap and water, and brings him to their flat to nurse him overnight.

Adaptations

BBC Radio adapted the story into the fourteenth episode of its Raffles radio drama, "To Catch a Thief", which first aired on 6 August 1992.^[4] The drama features Jeremy Clyde as Raffles and Michael Cochrane as Bunny. The plot of the episode closely follows that of the original story, with minor 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.

The drama includes a new scene where Bunny must keep Dr. Theobald from entering while Raffles is away. A similar scene does, however, take place during the events of the unadapted "The Last Laugh" short story.
In the drama, Bunny also deduces the society burglar's identity. He adds that the deduction was, "Elementary, my dear Raffles."
In the original story, Raffles and Bunny argue while in Lord Ernest's flat. They do not argue in the drama.
in the drama, Dr. Theobald is away on travel for the night that Raffles and Bunny go to meet Lord Ernest.
In the drama, Raffles steals the key to the handcuffs from Lord Ernest before the latter falls.
In the drama, Inspector Mackenzie conducts a vain investigation into Lord Ernest's death. He even interviews Raffles, while the latter is in his disguise as the ailing old man, Mr. Maturin.

<i>The Last Laugh</i> (1924 film) 1924 film directed by F. W. Murnau

The Last Laugh is a 1924 German silent film directed by German director F. W. Murnau from a screenplay written by Carl Mayer. The film stars Emil Jannings and Maly Delschaft. In German, the title means, "The last man."

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional private detective created by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, forensic science, and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic, which he employs when investigating cases for a wide variety of clients, including Scotland Yard.

Related Research Articles

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"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.

"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.

"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" 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 Fate of Faustina" 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 March 1901. The story was also included as the third 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.

"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.

"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.

"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.

"The Field of Philippi" 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 April 1905 by Collier's Weekly in New York and in May 1905 by Pall Mall Magazine in London. The story was also included as the fifth 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 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.

"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 133.
↑ 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.

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External links

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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 133.

[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