Gentlemen and Players

Name: Gentlemen and Players
Author: E.W. Hornung

Raffles, a celebrated amateur cricketer, confides to his companion Bunny that he maintains his cricket career chiefly as cover for his true profession: theft. His public reputation as a Gentlemen's cricketer, he argues, shields him from suspicion. During a Gentlemen versus Players match at Lord's, Lord Amersteth approaches Raffles to invite him to Milchester Abbey, Dorset, for a cricket week celebrating his son Viscount Crowley's coming of age. Raffles accepts and, without consulting Bunny, volunteers him as well, despite Bunny's protest that he is no cricketer. Afterward Raffles admits the true motive: the Amersteth household will be full of guests, jewels, and opportunity, and the two of them, being "vulgarly hard up," intend to take advantage of it. The two spend the weeks beforehand ostensibly fishing in Dorset while Raffles secretly coaches Bunny in catching and batting. Traveling to Milchester, they take shelter from rain at a wayside inn, where Raffles reacts oddly to a florid, overdressed stranger and insists on returning to the station rather than stay. At Milchester Abbey, amid a grand house party, Bunny is seated at dinner beside Miss Melhuish, the rector's daughter, who cannot resist sharing secrets: two well-known London thieves have been traced to the district and are believed to have designs on the Abbey, and a detective is watching them, though no warrant yet permits their arrest. She also points out the immense value of Lady Melrose's diamond and sapphire necklace, worn nightly by its dissipated, deaf, elderly owner. Terrified that he and Raffles are the suspected thieves, Bunny confronts Raffles that night, only to learn the truth: the "florid man" at the inn was one of the actual professional thieves, recognized by Raffles from earlier criminal acquaintance, and the quiet Scottish photographer at the house, ostensibly there to photograph cricket for Lord Amersteth, is in fact Inspector Mackenzie of Scotland Yard, sent to watch the real culprits. Raffles is exhilarated by the three-cornered situation—thieves, detective, and himself—and muses about the audacity of stealing the necklace out from under both the professional thieves and Mackenzie alike, though Bunny persuades him to abandon the scheme for the week. The cricket week proceeds pleasantly; Bunny even acquits himself decently on the field, aided by Raffles's coaching and a lucky catch. On the final night, tragedy strikes: Bunny wakes to find Mackenzie struggling with a footman-accomplice on the landing. Bunny helps subdue and hold the footman while Mackenzie pursues others outside. Lady Melrose's jewel case is found gone, lowered from her window, and Mackenzie is discovered on the lawn shot and gravely wounded. The house is thrown into uproar; the wounded detective is carried in and given aid, and the planned cricket match is cancelled. The guests disperse the next morning, Bunny content that he and Raffles remained, for once, "on the decent side," having merely caught the one accomplice rather than committed any theft themselves. But in the cab back through London, Raffles reveals the truth: he had seen the professional thieves signaling with luminous watch-dials beneath Lady Melrose's window the night before, deduced their plan involving an inside accomplice, and went to her room intending to warn her—but found her too deaf and dinner-fond to wake. Rather than raise an alarm, he allowed the professional thieves to make off with the jewel case, but not before extracting for himself, unseen, the diamond and sapphire necklace itself, which he now displays triumphantly in his fist to the astonished Bunny.

By E.W. Hornung · First published 1895 · Genre: Crime Fiction, Mystery, Adventure · 8,253 words

First lines

Old Raffles may or may not have been an exceptional criminal, but as a cricketer I dare swear he was unique. Himself a dangerous bat, a brilliant field, and perhaps the very finest slow bowler of his decade, he took incredibly little interest in the game at large. He never went up to Lord's without his cricket-bag, or showed the slightest interest in the result of a match in which he was not himself engaged. Nor was this mere hateful egotism on his part. He professed to have lost all enthusiasm for the game, and to keep it up only from the very lowest motives.

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Gentlemen and Players is listed on Textopian as a novel by E.W. Hornung, dated 1895 CE.

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Work type: Novel
Author: E.W. Hornung
Date: 1895 CE
Language: English
Genres: Crime Fiction, Mystery, Adventure, Sports Fiction, Literary Fiction
Length: 8,253 words
Structure: 1 section, 173 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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Work identity for Gentlemen and Players by E.W. Hornung
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Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Similar titles

Genres

Crime Fiction — The plot revolves around criminal activities, specifically theft, and the protagonist's involvement in planning and executing a heist.
Mystery — The narrative includes elements of suspense and intrigue, particularly surrounding the characters' intentions and the presence of a detective.
Adventure — The story features a series of escapades and the thrill of planning a crime, which aligns with adventure themes.
Sports Fiction — Cricket serves as a significant backdrop to the story, influencing character interactions and plot developments.