"The Amateur Cracksman" by E. W. Hornung is a short story collection published in 1899. It introduces A. J. Raffles, a celebrated cricket champion and gentleman of London society who leads a secret double life as a jewel thief. Accompanied by his devoted friend Bunny Manders, Raffles executes daring burglaries targeting London's elite while evading the persistent Inspector Mackenzie of Scotland Yard. This collection of eight stories launched one of literature's most famous criminal characters. (This is an automatically generated summary.)