
The story follows a young man named John Raffles who becomes involved with a group of criminals in London. He uses his skills as a cricketer to help them commit robberies and other crimes, but eventually decides to turn against them and become a detective himself. Along the way, he falls in love with a woman named Bunny Manders, who is also involved with the criminal underworld. The story explores themes of loyalty, betrayal, and redemption as Raffles tries to make amends for his past mistakes.
By E.W. Hornung · First published 1918 · Genre: War Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction · 7 chapters · 17,493 words
That dramatic month would have been memorable for the weather if for nothing else. Day after day 'the March sun felt like May,' if ever it did; and though it dried no hawthorn-spray in the broken heart of our little old town, and there was neither blade nor petal to watch a-blowing and a-growing, yet Spring was in our nostrils and we savoured it the more eagerly for all we knew it must bring forth. Then the overshadowing ruins took on glorious hues in the keen sunlight, especially towards evening; the outer grey so warm and soft, like a mouse's fur; the inner lining, of aged brick, an even softer tone of its own, neither red nor pink. Day after day a clean sky threw the jagged peaks into violent relief, and high lights snowed their Matterhorn, until a sidelong sunset picked the whole chain out with shadows like falls of ink. It was a sin to spend those afternoons indoors, even in the Rest Hut, where the two stoves stood idle for days on end, and all the windows open.
We Fall to Rise is listed on Textopian as a novella by E.W. Hornung, dated 1918 CE.
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resilience · redemption · struggle · hope · friendship · betrayal · self-discovery · overcoming adversity · personal growth · life lessons · courage · determination