Author. Creator of 'Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman'. Born at Marton, near Middlesbrough in England, he was the son of a German ironmaster and an English mother. He was educated at Uppingham School in Rutland, England, where he first showed evidence of his literary talents in the School Magazine. He left before reaching the Upper Sixth because of ill-health and spent the next two years in Australia. His experiences abroad, his love of cricket, and incidents from his own life provided the inspiration for his fiction. His elegantly written stories began to appear in the late 1880s, and he first made his name with 'A Bride From The Bush'(1890). In September, 1893 he married Constance Doyle, the sister of Arthur Conan Doyle, and in 1898 created his most famous character, Raffles, who is considered by many to be the equal of Sherlock Holmes. 'The Amateur Cracksman'(1899) was followed by 'The Black Mask'(1901), 'A Thief In The Night'(1905), and a novel, 'Mr. Justice Raffles'(1909). His other major work, 'Stingaree', containing stories about a gentleman-bushranger, was published in 1905. In 1915, after his only son Arthur was killed in action in France, he joined the Anti-Aircraft Corps, and turned his attention to writing war poetry, 'Wooden Crosses' and 'Bond And Free' appearing in 1917, and 'The Young Guard' in 1919. He was a member of The Marylebone Cricket Club and a friend, among others, of Jerome K. Jerome, J.M. Barrie, George Gissing, Rudyard Kipling and Hillaire Belloc. He died at St-Jean-de-Luz of aggravated influenza and is buried in the cemetery above the town.
Author. Creator of 'Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman'. Born at Marton, near Middlesbrough in England, he was the son of a German ironmaster and an English mother. He was educated at Uppingham School in Rutland, England, where he first showed evidence of his literary talents in the School Magazine. He left before reaching the Upper Sixth because of ill-health and spent the next two years in Australia. His experiences abroad, his love of cricket, and incidents from his own life provided the inspiration for his fiction. His elegantly written stories began to appear in the late 1880s, and he first made his name with 'A Bride From The Bush'(1890). In September, 1893 he married Constance Doyle, the sister of Arthur Conan Doyle, and in 1898 created his most famous character, Raffles, who is considered by many to be the equal of Sherlock Holmes. 'The Amateur Cracksman'(1899) was followed by 'The Black Mask'(1901), 'A Thief In The Night'(1905), and a novel, 'Mr. Justice Raffles'(1909). His other major work, 'Stingaree', containing stories about a gentleman-bushranger, was published in 1905. In 1915, after his only son Arthur was killed in action in France, he joined the Anti-Aircraft Corps, and turned his attention to writing war poetry, 'Wooden Crosses' and 'Bond And Free' appearing in 1917, and 'The Young Guard' in 1919. He was a member of The Marylebone Cricket Club and a friend, among others, of Jerome K. Jerome, J.M. Barrie, George Gissing, Rudyard Kipling and Hillaire Belloc. He died at St-Jean-de-Luz of aggravated influenza and is buried in the cemetery above the town.
Bio by: A.J. Raffles
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