Ernest William Hornung

Ernest William Hornung was a British author born in Middlesbrough. He spent most of his life in England and France, but in 1884 left for Australia and stayed for two years where he working as a tutor. In 1893 he married Constance Doyle, the sisterof Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in 1893. His most famous creation, 'gentleman thief' A. J. Raffles, first appeared in Strand magazine and then in other British magazines during the 1890s. The stories were later published in The Amateur Cracksman (1899), a collection. Other titles in the series include The Black Mask (1901), A Thief in the Night (1905), and the full-length novel Mr Justice Raffles (1909).

Robert Giddings is a well-established literary critic who regularly reviews for many publications including the Sunday Times, the Guardian and the New Statesman.