The Black Mask (Annotated)

• This edition includes the following editor's analysis: Can Arthur J. Raffles be compared to Sherlock Holmes?

First published in 1901, "The Black Mask" is the second collection of stories in Hornung's series concerning A. J. Raffles, a gentleman thief in late Victorian London. The collection was published under the title Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman.

After the events of the final story of the preceding short story collection, "The Amateur Cracksman," the reputations of Arthur. J. Raffles and his companion Bunny Manders are ruined. Raffles is assumed to have drowned in the Mediterranean, and Bunny has faced eighteen months in prison and is struggling to get back on his feet.
The incredible eight stories in this collection follow their reunion, and their joint return to crime, though as hardened criminals rather than respectable gentlemen. The stories are in chronological order, yet each is mostly independent and can be read separately.

Arthur J. Raffles appears in three other works (two short story collections and one novel, all published by ePembaBooks) by E. W. Hornung:

• "The Amateur Cracksman" (1899, 8 short stories)
• "A Thief in the Night" (1905, 10 short stories)
• "Mr. Justice Raffles" (1909, novel)

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