Raffles

The second book of Raffles - the amateur cracksman who plays for England at cricket and burgles the houses he dines in, with Bunny as his conscience and accomplice. Hornung was Conan Doyle's brother-in-law and dedicated the first volume to him; Doyle thought making a criminal the hero was a dangerous idea. Fifty-six plates by painters including Raden Saleh and Jean-Louis Forain supply the drawing rooms, courtrooms and country lanes of Raffles's world, from 1810 to 1926.