Ernest William Hornung was born in Middlesbrough, England on 7th June 1866, the third son and youngest of eight children. Although spending most of his life in England and France he spent two years in Australia from 1884 and that experience was to colour and influence much of his written works. His most famous character A. J. Raffles, ‘the gentleman thief’, was published first in Cassell’s Magazine during 1898 and was to make him famous across the world as the new century dawned. Hornung also wrote several stage plays and was a gifted poet. Spending time with the troops in WWI he published Notes of a Camp-Follower on the Western Front during 1919, a detailed account of his time there. This was especially close to his heart as his son, and only child, was killed at the Second Battle of Ypres on 6th July 1915. Ernest William Hornung died in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, in the south of France on 22nd March 1921. Index of Contents Chapter I - Behind the Scenes Chapter II - Change and Chance Chapter III - Very Raw Material Chapter IV - Settling In Chapter V - Nicknames Chapter VI - Boy to Boy Chapter VII - Reassurance Chapter VIII - Likes and Dislikes Chapter IX - Coram Populo Chapter X - Elegiacs Chapter XI - A Merry Christmas Chapter XII - The New Year Chapter XIII - The Haunted House Chapter XIV - Summer-Term Chapter XV - Sprawson’s Masterpiecs Chapter XVI - Similia Similibus Chapter XVII - The Fun of the Fair Chapter XVIII - Dark Horses Chapter XIX - Fame and Fortune Chapter XX - The Eve of Office Chapter XXI - Out of Form Chapter XXII - The Old Boys’ Match Chapter XXIII - Interlude in a Study Chapter XXIV - The Second Morning’s Play Chapter XXV - Interlude in the Wood Chapter XXVI - Close of Play Chapter XXVII - The Extreme Penalty Chapter XXVIII - Like Lucifer Chapter XXIX - Chips and Jan Chapter XXX - His Last Fling Chapter XXXI - Vale E. W. Hornung - A Short Biography E. W. Hornung - A Concise Bibliography