Character guide

A. J. Raffles

major

Also known as Mr. Raffles, the Raffles, old Raffles, the hearty Raffles, the great Raffles, sped Raffles

Raffles moves easily between Lord's cricket ground and locked Mayfair bedrooms, and he is the one who talks Bunny into every scheme. His pleasure lies less in the loot than in the performance: he savors dining among criminologists who suspect him, and he plans his moves with the deliberation of a man who has thought everything through in advance. That cool nerve and appetite for risk drive the early adventures and set the uneasy terms of his friendship with Bunny.

Bunny

major

Also known as good Bunny, poor Bunny

Bunny is a man of small means and large debts, kept afloat by Raffles's generosity and drawn into his orbit by a loyalty he cannot quite justify. He lends his respectable banking account to launder Raffles's takings and his flat to store the loot, wincing at each request yet consenting almost every time. His divided heart — hero-worship for a villain, dread of discovery — gives the early chapters their anxious, intimate voice.

Narrator

major

Also known as I, me, myself, mine

This narrator looks back on the earliest days of his friendship with Raffles, promising a frank portrait that hides nothing, including the wrong that cost him the woman he loved. He admits he has softened the record before, blinded by the gallant glamour of a villain who meant more to him than any hero. His shame and residual loyalty frame the whole telling, making every adventure a confession as much as a caper.

Barney Maguire

supporting

Also known as Maguire, the terrible Barney, Barney

Barney Maguire greets strangers with a fist and a threat, then claps them on the back once he remembers a face. His den is a locked stronghold of boxing trophies and wary hospitality, and he is quick to assume any intruder is a crook worth flattening. As a rival with brute force and a suspicious eye, he raises the stakes whenever Raffles's schemes stray into his territory.

Mr. Medlicott

supporting

Also known as young Medlicott, Medlicott

Young Medlicott looks like a man of eighty in the body of a beardless boy, hauling himself up the stairs by the banisters between gasping pauses. Even mid-attack he studies the visitor carefully, refusing to surrender the candle until he has sized him up, and his first words thank the intruder for bare humanity. His frailty and watchfulness make him an unexpectedly formidable witness in a house that is not as safe as it looks.

Lord Thornaby

supporting

Also known as Thornaby

Lord Thornaby presides over a dinner of criminologists and guests, a host whose European reputation rests on theory rather than practice. He has never married, never spoken in the Lords, and never allowed his photograph to be published, yet he is said to have the best brain in the Upper House. His invitation to Raffles — as suspected criminal rather than cricketer — turns a polite dinner into a quiet trap, and sets the early arc's central test of nerve.

Phillipi Nipper Nasmyth

supporting

Also known as Nasmyth, Nipper Nasmyth, The Nipper, old Nasmyth, old Nipper, old Nipper Nasmyth

Nipper Nasmyth belongs to Raffles's wider sporting and social circle, the kind of old comrade whose troubles arrive already steeped in awkwardness. His entanglements at the Phillipi field give the partnership a job that is less a lark than a debt of friendship, testing Bunny's nerve and Raffles's ingenuity. He matters because his predicament forces the pair to operate where sentiment and self-interest collide.

The Colonel

minor

Also known as the colonel

A mysterious figure who hires Raffles for a job.

Nab

minor

Also known as old Nab

A servant or associate of Raffles, possibly a butler.

Parrington

minor

A character involved in the cricket or social circle.

Harry

minor

A minor acquaintance or servant mentioned in passing.

Swigger Morrison

minor

Also known as old Swigger Morrison

A cricketer and friend of Raffles.

Young Medlicott

minor

A younger relative of Mr. Medlicott, possibly a separate character.

Kingsmill

minor

Also known as Kingsmill, Q.C.

A barrister or legal figure encountered by the duo.

Guillemard

minor

Also known as the bloated Guillemard, old Guillemard, Mrs. Guillemard, the great Guillemard

A wealthy man and his wife, targets of a burglary.

Hector Carruthers

minor

Also known as old Carruthers, old Hector Carruthers

An older gentleman in the social circle.

Crawshay

minor

Also known as old Crawshay

A character possibly involved in the criminal underworld.

Ernest

minor

Also known as The futile Ernest

A minor character, possibly a friend or relative.

Leggett

minor

Also known as the unfortunate Leggett

A character who meets an unfortunate fate.

Lord Lochmaben

minor

Also known as Lochmaben, this Lochmaben

A nobleman and potential target of theft.

Fawcett

minor

A minor character, possibly a servant or associate.

Sullivan

minor

A minor character, possibly a criminal or acquaintance.

Lady Lochmaben

minor

Wife of Lord Lochmaben, present at social events.

Lady Melrose

minor

A society lady, possibly a hostess.