Ernest William Hornung
Novelist, Author
1866 – 1921
Who was Ernest William Hornung?
Ernest William Hornung was an English author and poet perhaps best known for writing the A. J. Raffles series of stories about a gentleman thief in late 19th-century London. Hornung was educated at Uppingham School; as a result of poor health he left the school in December 1883 to travel to Sydney, where he stayed for two years. He drew on his Australian experiences as a background when he began writing, initially short stories and later novels.
In 1898 he wrote "In the Chains of Crime", which introduced Raffles and his sidekick, Bunny Manders; the characters were based partly on his friends Oscar Wilde and his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, and also on Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The series of Raffles short stories were collected for sale in book form in 1899, and two further books of Raffles short stories followed, as well as a poorly received novel. Aside from his Raffles stories, Hornung was a prodigious writer of fiction, publishing numerous books from 1890, with A Bride from the Bush to his 1914 novel The Crime Doctor.
The First World War brought an end to Hornung's fictional output. His son, Oscar, was killed at the Second Battle of Ypres in July 1915.
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- Born
- Jun 7, 1866
Middlesbrough - Also known as
- E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung
- E. W. Hornung
- Willie Hornung
- E.W. Hornung
- Willie
- W. Hornung
- Parents
- Spouses
- Constance Conan Doyle
(1893 - 1921/03/22)
- Constance Conan Doyle
- Nationality
- England
- Profession
- Education
- Uppingham School
- Died
- Mar 22, 1921
Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
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"Ernest William Hornung." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/ernest_william_hornung>.
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