E. W. Hornung Books in Order (Updated September 8, 2026)

E. W. Hornung, born Ernest William Hornung, was an English novelist and short-story writer best remembered for creating A. J. Raffles, the gentleman thief and cricketer whose adventures are narrated by his companion Bunny Manders. Hornung also wrote Australian fiction, crime novels, supernatural stories, the Stingaree bushranger tales, and several standalone novels.

The most important reading-order decision concerns Raffles. Four original books contain the core Raffles canon, but publication order and the internal timing of individual stories do not line up perfectly. New readers should use publication order because Hornung deliberately reveals the partnership between Raffles and Bunny in that sequence.

The Short Answer for New Readers

• Best place to start: The Amateur Cracksman.
• Best Raffles order: publication order through all four original books.
• Do not use strict chronology first: later Raffles collections contain adventures set at earlier points in the partnership.
• Stingaree: a separate recurring Australian bushranger continuity.
• The Crime Doctor: another separate recurring-character collection.
• Most other Hornung novels: standalone and safe to read independently.

If Raffles is the reason you are reading Hornung, there is no need to begin with his 1890 Australian novel A Bride from the Bush. Start directly with The Amateur Cracksman and complete the four Raffles books before exploring the rest of Hornung’s fiction.

The Four Raffles Books in Order

A. J. Raffles is an amateur cricketer, society figure, burglar, and criminal adventurer. Bunny Manders serves as his friend, accomplice, and principal narrator. Their relationship is deliberately reminiscent of the detective-and-companion structure associated with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, although Hornung reverses the moral position by placing criminals at the center.

1. The Amateur Cracksman (1899)
2. The Black Mask (1901), published in the United States as Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman
3. A Thief in the Night (1905)
4. Mr. Justice Raffles (1909)

Recommended: read these four books exactly in publication order. The first two establish the central continuity and contain major developments that later Raffles stories assume readers already know.

Why Publication Order Works Better Than Raffles Chronology

The Raffles bibliography becomes confusing if readers try to force every story into a strict fictional timeline. A Thief in the Night, the third book published, contains adventures that Bunny presents as previously untold episodes from different stages of his association with Raffles.

That means the book is not simply a set of events occurring after everything in The Black Mask. It deliberately looks backward. A strict chronological rearrangement therefore changes the way Hornung originally disclosed information about Raffles and Bunny.

Mr. Justice Raffles is a full-length novel rather than another collection of loosely arranged cases. It was published last and should also be read last on a first journey through the original canon.

What Is Inside The Amateur Cracksman?

The Amateur Cracksman is a collection of linked Raffles stories rather than one continuous novel. The stories establish Bunny’s financial desperation, his renewed contact with Raffles, and the beginning of their criminal partnership.

1. The Ides of March
2. A Costume Piece
3. Gentlemen and Players
4. Le Premier Pas
5. Wilful Murder
6. Nine Points of the Law
7. The Return Match
8. The Gift of the Emperor

Readers using modern editions should keep the collection intact if possible. Individual stories are sometimes published separately, but those separate ebooks or chapbooks are not additional Raffles books.

The Black Mask and Its Alternate Raffles Title

The second Raffles book was published in Britain as The Black Mask. American editions used the title Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman, and later editions may shorten that further to Raffles.

These are not separate installments. They are different titles for the same second Raffles collection. A reader who owns The Black Mask does not also need Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman to complete the sequence.

This second volume should not be skipped because it contains major changes in the lives and identities of both central characters. Later stories work better when those developments are already known.

A Thief in the Night: Where the Timeline Loops Back

A Thief in the Night is the third Raffles book but consists largely of additional cases Bunny had not previously narrated. The collection therefore revisits earlier periods rather than acting as a straightforward sequel to every event in the second volume.

1. Out of Paradise
2. The Chest of Silver
3. The Rest Cure
4. The Criminologists’ Club
5. The Field of Philippi
6. A Bad Night
7. A Trap to Catch a Cracksman
8. The Spoils of Sacrilege
9. The Raffles Relics
10. The Last Word

This backward-looking structure is the main reason a first-time reader should resist fan-created chronological rearrangements. Hornung expected readers to know the earlier books when these stories appeared.

Mr. Justice Raffles Comes Last

Mr. Justice Raffles appeared in 1909 and is the fourth original Raffles book. Unlike the three story collections, it is a novel-length adventure.

Its events belong within the broader Raffles history rather than simply occurring after every previously narrated event, but publication order remains the best way to encounter it. Reading it fourth preserves the author’s intended sequence of revelation and avoids turning the series into a puzzle before the reader knows the characters.

A. J. Raffles Reading Order With Modern Collections

Later publishers have issued titles such as The Collected Raffles, The Collected Raffles Stories, and The Complete Short Stories of Raffles. These are collected editions, not new Hornung installments.

A complete collection can be a convenient alternative to buying the three original short-story volumes separately. Readers should still check whether Mr. Justice Raffles is included, because a collection advertised as the complete short stories may omit the full-length novel.

Stingaree Stories in Order

Stingaree is another recurring Hornung criminal, but he belongs to a completely different setting from Raffles. The character is an Australian bushranger whose adventures were collected in Stingaree.

1. Stingaree (1905)

This is Separate continuity. Similarities between Stingaree and Raffles, particularly Hornung’s fascination with charismatic criminals, do not make the characters part of the same storyline.

Modern editions occasionally separate individual Stingaree adventures. Those individual story releases should not be counted as sequels to the original collection.

The Crime Doctor Stories

The Crime Doctor is another linked collection built around a recurring central figure. It was published in 1914, well after Hornung had established Raffles and Stingaree.

1. The Crime Doctor (1914)

Treat this as its own one-volume recurring-character continuity. It does not sit between any of the Raffles books and is not a continuation of Stingaree.

Witching Hill Is a Linked Story Collection

Witching Hill, published in 1913, contains eight connected stories centered on strange events affecting a residential estate. The estate clerk Gillon and the resident Uvo Delavoye investigate the recurring disturbances.

Because the same setting and central characters recur, the stories are best read in the order in which they appear in the collection. The book is Separate continuity from Hornung’s crime series.

E. W. Hornung Novels in Publication Order

Hornung wrote twenty novels in addition to his short-story collections. Most are standalone. Several early books draw heavily on Australia, where Hornung had spent time as a young man.

1. A Bride from the Bush (1890)
2. Tiny Luttrell (1893)
3. The Boss of Taroomba (1894)
4. The Unbidden Guest (1894)
5. Irralie’s Bushranger (1896)
6. The Rogue’s March (1896)
7. My Lord Duke (1897)
8. Young Blood (1898)
9. Dead Men Tell No Tales (1899)
10. The Belle of Toorak (1900), also published as The Shadow of a Man
11. Peccavi (1900)
12. At Large (1902)
13. The Shadow of the Rope (1902)
14. Denis Dent (1903)
15. No Hero (1903)
16. Mr. Justice Raffles (1909), Raffles novel
17. The Camera Fiend (1911)
18. Fathers of Men (1912)
19. The Thousandth Woman (1913)
20. Witching Hill (1913), structurally a linked sequence of stories and often treated separately from conventional novels

The classification of Witching Hill varies because it has an overarching setting and recurring characters but is constructed as individual stories. For reading purposes, that distinction does not create an ordering problem: read the stories in the order printed in the book.

Hornung’s Major Short-Story Collections

Hornung’s story collections include several of his most important books. Some contain recurring characters, while others gather unrelated fiction.

1. Under Two Skies (1892)
2. Some Persons Unknown (1898)
3. The Amateur Cracksman (1899), Raffles
4. The Black Mask (1901), Raffles
5. Stingaree (1905)
6. A Thief in the Night (1905), Raffles
7. The Crime Doctor (1914)
8. Old Offenders and a Few Old Scores (1923), posthumous

Old Offenders and a Few Old Scores appeared after Hornung’s death and gathers earlier material. It should be treated as Optional for readers who have already completed the original recurring-character collections.

Alternate Titles That Can Cause Duplicate Purchases

Hornung’s British and American editions did not always use the same titles. Readers collecting physical or digital editions should check alternate titles before assuming two listings represent different works.

• The Black Mask is also published as Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman.
• The Belle of Toorak is also known as The Shadow of a Man.
• Some editions shorten the second Raffles title simply to Raffles.

Alternate-title editions occupy the same place in a reading order. They should never be counted as additional sequels.

A Recommended Route Beyond Raffles

Readers who finish Raffles and want to explore Hornung more broadly can move outward according to genre rather than trying to follow one nonexistent shared universe.

1. The Amateur Cracksman
2. The Black Mask
3. A Thief in the Night
4. Mr. Justice Raffles
5. Stingaree for another criminal protagonist
6. The Crime Doctor for linked crime stories
7. Witching Hill for linked supernatural mystery stories
8. Dead Men Tell No Tales or The Shadow of the Rope for standalone suspense
9. Return to A Bride from the Bush and the early Australian fiction for a complete career read.

This route is a recommendation, not an internal chronology. The non-Raffles books listed after the first four are independent branches of Hornung’s work.

Hornung’s War Writing

Hornung’s later career was affected profoundly by the First World War and the death of his son, Oscar. His war-related writing belongs outside his fictional crime continuities.

• Notes of a Camp-Follower on the Western Front, nonfiction
• The Young Guard (1919), a collection of wartime verse

These works are Optional for readers following Raffles or Hornung’s novels. They are better approached as a separate part of the author’s life and wartime experience.

Is There a Complete Chronological E. W. Hornung Order?

No. Hornung’s novels and story cycles use separate casts, countries, settings, and genres. Australia links many of his early works thematically, but that does not make them one fictional chronology.

Even Raffles is easier in publication order than strict story chronology because later books deliberately revisit earlier adventures. Publication order therefore remains the stable choice both for Raffles and for a full Hornung bibliography.

Current Publication Status

E. W. Hornung died in 1921, so there are no upcoming books written by him. Later releases are reprints, public-domain editions, collected stories, restored texts, translations, or newly assembled compilations of existing material.

A recent publication date on an edition of The Amateur Cracksman, Stingaree, or another Hornung title does not represent a newly written installment and does not change the original reading order.

Questions About Reading E. W. Hornung

What is the first Raffles book?

The Amateur Cracksman, published in 1899, is the first Raffles collection and the correct starting point for new readers.

How many original Raffles books did Hornung write?

Hornung wrote four original Raffles books: three short-story collections and one novel. They are The Amateur Cracksman, The Black Mask, A Thief in the Night, and Mr. Justice Raffles.

Is Raffles the same book as The Black Mask?

Some editions titled Raffles or Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman contain the material published in Britain as The Black Mask. Check the contents before purchasing both titles.

Should Raffles be read chronologically?

Not for a first read. Publication order is better because later collections revisit earlier stages of Raffles and Bunny’s criminal partnership. Reordering every story chronologically changes Hornung’s original structure.

Is Stingaree connected to Raffles?

No. Stingaree is a separate Australian bushranger character. The criminal-protagonist theme is similar, but there is no reason to place Stingaree inside the Raffles sequence.

Is Witching Hill a novel?

It is better described as a linked collection of eight stories sharing the Witching Hill estate and recurring central characters. Some bibliographies group it with Hornung’s longer fiction, but the internal reading order is simply the printed story sequence.

Can Hornung’s standalone novels be read in any order?

Yes. Most of the novels outside Raffles introduce separate casts and stories. Publication order is useful for a complete career read but is not required for understanding individual standalone books.

The Safest Reading Order

For E. W. Hornung, the clearest starting point is The Amateur Cracksman. Continue with The Black Mask, A Thief in the Night, and Mr. Justice Raffles before experimenting with chronological rearrangements or modern compilations.

After Raffles, Hornung’s bibliography branches rather than continues. Stingaree, The Crime Doctor, and Witching Hill are distinct recurring-character or linked-story books, while most of the remaining novels are standalones. Keeping those boundaries clear prevents a large but manageable bibliography from looking like one long interconnected series.