Hornung E. W. (Ernest William Hornung) Biography

British novelist, born in Middlesborough. He is chiefly remembered as the creator of Raffles, the gentleman burglar. Educated at Uppingham, Hornung spent two years of his youth in Australia. His first novel, A Bride from the Bush (1890), was followed by Raffles (1899), his greatest success, in which the eponymous hero carries out a series of daring jewel robberies, admiringly described by his former school fellow, ‘Bunny’. It was followed by Stingaree, a Thief in the Night (1905), an attempt to recreate a Raffles character in an Australian setting, and by a sequel to the earlier bestseller, Mr Justice Raffles (1909). His other novels include Notes of a Camp Follower (1919). See ‘Raffles and Miss Blandish’ by G. Orwell.