The short story is often viewed as an inferior relation to the Novel but it is an art in itself. To take a story and distil its essence into fewer pages while keeping character and plot rounded and driven is not an easy task. Many try and many fail. EW Hornung was one to succeed as this audiobook ably demonstrates. Ernest William Hornung was born in Middlesbrough England on 7th June 1866, the third son and youngest of eight children. Although spending most of his life in England and France he spent two years in Australia from 1884 and that experience was to colour and influence much of his written works. His most famous character A. J. Raffles, 'the gentleman thief', was published first in Cassell's Magazine during 1898 and was to make him famous across the world as the new century dawned. It is the cunning exploits of this intrepid character that this volume is based wonderfully brought to life by narrator, Richard Mitchley.