WRITER

E. W. Hornung

1866 - 1921

Photo of E. W. Hornung

Icon of person E. W. Hornung

Ernest William Hornung (7 June 1866 – 22 March 1921) was an English author and poet known for writing the A. J. Raffles series of stories about a gentleman thief in late 19th-century London. Hornung was educated at Uppingham School; as a result of poor health he left the school in December 1883 to travel to Sydney, where he stayed for two years. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of E. W. Hornung has received more than 194,819 page views. His biography is available in 15 different languages on Wikipedia. E. W. Hornung is the 6,155th most popular writer (down from 5,522nd in 2019), the 5,106th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 4,591st in 2019) and the 576th most popular British Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 190k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 43.04

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 15

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 2.67

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.84

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Mr. Justice Raffles
Classic Literature, English Detective and mystery stories, Fiction
First published in 1909, A Thief in the Night is the first novel detailing the exploits and intrigues of gentleman thief A. J. Raffles in late Victorian England. The novel is a darker work than the three preceding short story collections (The Amateur Cracksman, The Black Mask and A Thief in the Night.) In it a more cynical Raffles finds a corrupt moneylender, Mister Brigstock, is entrapping the young sons of the wealthy with exorbitant interest on his loans, and its up to Raffles to teach him a lesson.
1909
The Shadow of the Rope
Fiction, mystery & detective, general
From Google Books: "Rachel Minchin stands in the dock, accused of murdering the dissolute husband she was preparing to leave. The trial is sensational, and public opinion vehemently and almost universally against her. When the jury astonishes and outrages the world with a vedict of Not Guilty, Rachel quickly finds herself in need of protection. It comes in the form of a surprising offer of marriage from a mysterious stranger who has sat through every day of her trial. The marriage to this intriguing stranger, Mr. Steel, is by mutual agreement to be a platonic one, the only condition of which is that neither is ever to question the other about the past. The two travel to Steel's remote country estate, where Rachel accidentally discovers that her second husband's past was somehow intertwined with her first husband's history - but how, exactly, and why he determined to marry her, Steel will not say. As her doubts about her husband increase, local busybodies threaten to unearth Rachel's own past. And that is the least of the secrets that comes to light as this entertaining mystery unfolds."
1902
The Amateur Cracksman
Classic Literature, Criminals, English Detective and mystery stories
First published in 1899, The Amateur Cracksman was the first collection of stories detailing the exploits and intrigues of gentleman thief A. J. Raffles in late Victorian England. Raffles was E. W. Hornung's most famous character. Popular in its day, the book led to three later works: The Black Mask and A Thief in the Night, both collections of short stories, and Mr. Justice Raffles, a complete novel. In public a popular sportsman, in private a cunning burglar with a weakness for valuable jewelery, Arthur Raffles, with the help of his side-kick Bunny Manders, always manages to thwart the investigations of Scotland Yard's Inspector Mackenzie.
1899
No Hero
1901
A Thief in the Night
Detective stories, English Short stories, Short stories, English
First published in 1905, A Thief in the Night is the third collection of stories detailing the exploits and intrigues of gentleman thief A. J. Raffles in late Victorian England. In public a popular sportsman, in private a cunning burglar with a weakness for valuable jewelery, Arthur Raffles, with the help of his side-kick Bunny Manders, always manages to thwart the investigations of Scotland Yard's Inspector Mackenzie. Popular in its day, this is the last collection of short stories about E. W. Hornung's most famous character - followed only by a novel, Mr. Justice Raffles.
1905
Dead Men Tell No Tales
Fiction, Mystery
1899
The Amateur Cracksman
Classic Literature, Criminals, English Detective and mystery stories
First published in 1899, The Amateur Cracksman was the first collection of stories detailing the exploits and intrigues of gentleman thief A. J. Raffles in late Victorian England. Raffles was E. W. Hornung's most famous character. Popular in its day, the book led to three later works: The Black Mask and A Thief in the Night, both collections of short stories, and Mr. Justice Raffles, a complete novel. In public a popular sportsman, in private a cunning burglar with a weakness for valuable jewelery, Arthur Raffles, with the help of his side-kick Bunny Manders, always manages to thwart the investigations of Scotland Yard's Inspector Mackenzie.
1899
No Hero
1901
A Thief in the Night
Detective stories, English Short stories, Short stories, English
First published in 1905, A Thief in the Night is the third collection of stories detailing the exploits and intrigues of gentleman thief A. J. Raffles in late Victorian England. In public a popular sportsman, in private a cunning burglar with a weakness for valuable jewelery, Arthur Raffles, with the help of his side-kick Bunny Manders, always manages to thwart the investigations of Scotland Yard's Inspector Mackenzie. Popular in its day, this is the last collection of short stories about E. W. Hornung's most famous character - followed only by a novel, Mr. Justice Raffles.
1905
Mr. Justice Raffles
Classic Literature, English Detective and mystery stories, Fiction
First published in 1909, A Thief in the Night is the first novel detailing the exploits and intrigues of gentleman thief A. J. Raffles in late Victorian England. The novel is a darker work than the three preceding short story collections (The Amateur Cracksman, The Black Mask and A Thief in the Night.) In it a more cynical Raffles finds a corrupt moneylender, Mister Brigstock, is entrapping the young sons of the wealthy with exorbitant interest on his loans, and its up to Raffles to teach him a lesson.
1909
Dead Men Tell No Tales
Fiction, Mystery
1899
The Shadow of the Rope
Fiction, mystery & detective, general
From Google Books: "Rachel Minchin stands in the dock, accused of murdering the dissolute husband she was preparing to leave. The trial is sensational, and public opinion vehemently and almost universally against her. When the jury astonishes and outrages the world with a vedict of Not Guilty, Rachel quickly finds herself in need of protection. It comes in the form of a surprising offer of marriage from a mysterious stranger who has sat through every day of her trial. The marriage to this intriguing stranger, Mr. Steel, is by mutual agreement to be a platonic one, the only condition of which is that neither is ever to question the other about the past. The two travel to Steel's remote country estate, where Rachel accidentally discovers that her second husband's past was somehow intertwined with her first husband's history - but how, exactly, and why he determined to marry her, Steel will not say. As her doubts about her husband increase, local busybodies threaten to unearth Rachel's own past. And that is the least of the secrets that comes to light as this entertaining mystery unfolds."
1902

Among WRITERS

Among writers, E. W. Hornung ranks 6,155 out of 7,302. Before him are Patrick Grainville, Mieko Kawakami, Walker Percy, Maja Bošković-Stulli, John Addington Symonds, and Jaime Bayly. After him are Daniel Kehlmann, Ernest Lehman, Irena Krzywicka, Jerry Pournelle, Charles Olson, and Henry Jenkins.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1866, E. W. Hornung ranks 151. Before him are Hiram Johnson, James Ewing, David Samanez Ocampo, François Gagnepain, Herbert Austin, 1st Baron Austin, and Alice Austen. After him are Saliamonas Banaitis, Émile Auguste Joseph De Wildeman, Eugène Grisot, and Jimmy Ross. Among people deceased in 1921, E. W. Hornung ranks 126. Before him are Julius von Hann, Justiniano Borgoño, Emily Davies, Rudolf Stöger-Steiner von Steinstätten, Léon Moreaux, and Antoinette Brown Blackwell. After him are Raymond Thorne, Henry Hyndman, Mary Watson Whitney, P. B. S. Pinchback, John Burroughs, and Charles B. Cory.

Others Born in 1866

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1921

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, E. W. Hornung ranks 5,106 out of 8,785. Before him are Sam Heughan (1980), Rod Temperton (1949), Sophie Thompson (1962), Peter Wright (1970), Heather Mills (1968), and Charles Sheffield (1935). After him are Mark Jones (1933), Benjamin Vulliamy (1747), Hugh Huxley (1924), George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll (1823), Josephine Tewson (1931), and George Alexander Macfarren (1813).

Others born in United Kingdom

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among WRITERS In United Kingdom

Among writers born in United Kingdom, E. W. Hornung ranks 576. Before him are Dannie Abse (1923), Ann Cleeves (1954), Reginald Hill (1936), Bernardine Evaristo (1959), J. G. Farrell (1935), and John Addington Symonds (1840). After him are Joyce Cary (1888), Philip Massinger (1583), Paul Scott (1920), Michael Drayton (1563), Beryl Bainbridge (1932), and Alan Hollinghurst (1954).

British born Writers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous