Character guide

A. J. Raffles

major

Also known as Raffles, old Raffles, Mr. Raffles, Raffles the burglar

Raffles is the magnetic center of these stories: a celebrated athlete whose secret life as a thief depends on perfect composure, careful planning, and the loyalty of his friend Bunny. He is pursued not only by the police but by shadowy Italians connected to the Camorra, and his cool wit never quite hides the danger closing in. Watching him work is watching a man who treats crime as another sport, and the early stories hinge on whether his nerve will outlast his luck.

Bunny

major

Also known as the Bunny, old Bunny

Bunny is the reader's eyes inside Raffles's double life, a man of decent instincts who keeps choosing loyalty over caution. He is often the one who panics, blunders, or gets handcuffed to a bridge while Raffles improvises an escape, and his admiration for his friend is both his finest quality and his weakness. His voice gives the stories their anxious, human texture, and his complicity makes every narrow escape feel personal.

Lord Ernest Belville

supporting

Also known as Lord Ernest, Belville, the late Lord Ernest Belville

Lord Ernest Belville presents himself as a gentleman, but when he ambushes Bunny on a darkened bridge and waits for Raffles to emerge, his true nature shows: cold, patient, and utterly willing to kill. He is the story's most dangerous foil because he understands Raffles's methods and exploits his confidence. His confrontation with Raffles raises the stakes of the early arc, proving that the burglar's luck has limits and that someone has been watching all along.

Dr. Theobald

supporting

Also known as Theobald, friend Theobald, old Theobald

Dr. Theobald is the practical man in Raffles's orbit, called in when illness is convenient and questions are unwelcome. He pushes Bunny out of the sickroom with a sovereign and a curt word, yet his evasions leave Bunny uncertain whether Raffles is truly ill or merely hiding. His presence grounds the stories in ordinary London life and quietly raises the question of how much the doctor suspects about his patient's other activities.

Faustina

supporting

Also known as this poor Faustina

Faustina stands at the center of a tense drawing-room scene, confronting a masked intruder with marble composure until Raffles reveals himself and she cries out his name. Her marriage to a dissipated man and her old fondness for Raffles create a triangle of loyalty, memory, and danger. She matters because she alone knows Raffles is alive, and her silence or speech could undo everything he has built.

Count Corbucci

supporting

Also known as Corbucci, that grampus Corbucci, old Corbucci, the defunct Corbucci

Count Corbucci belongs to the world of Italian intrigue that trails Raffles through London, a man whose wealth and death demand explanation. His presence links the Camorra, the organ-grinders, and the velvet-eyed foreigner into a single threatening network. Though dead before the action fully unfolds, he is the hinge on which the mystery turns, and his name keeps returning as Raffles tries to score himself off.

Corporal Connal

supporting

Also known as Connal, IV Corporal Connal

Connal is a colonial soldier risen from the ranks in a hard-fighting South African campaign, a mongrel type whose physical bulk and local knowledge make him useful and dangerous in equal measure. He singles out the narrator for abuse from the day he joins, and only Raffles's twenty-minute beating ends the bullying—though the narrator begins to suspect something worse than mere brutality. When the troop is left under Connal's charge and ordered to escort wagons eastward, his suspicious navigation puts Raffles and the narrator on alert, making him the pivot of a quiet wartime treachery.

Mr. Maturin

supporting

Also known as Maturin

Mr. Maturin is a bedridden recluse in a London flat, attended only by a doctor he despises and now seeking a gentleman of sorts to serve as his sole nurse and companion. He has no patience for pretense: he strips away the narrator's evasions about his past with a tittering cruelty, threatening to dismiss him on the spot if he won't confess what he has done. His insistence on a gentleman—and his willingness to hear the worst—suggests he is not merely an invalid but a man with his own reasons for wanting someone with something to hide.

Stefano

minor

An Italian servant or associate in the Faustina affair.

Jacques Saillard

minor

A Frenchman involved in a jewel theft plot.

Beefy

minor

Also known as Good old Beefy, the valiant Beefy, old Beefy Smith

A boisterous friend of Raffles and Bunny.

Captain Bellingham

minor

Also known as Bellingham

A military officer who crosses paths with Raffles.

Aphrodite

minor

A racehorse or a woman referred to in passing.

Ralph

minor

Also known as Mr. Ralph

A minor acquaintance of the main characters.

Arturo

minor

Also known as Arturo mio

An Italian man connected to Faustina's story.

Mr. Ezra B. Martin

minor

Also known as Mr. Martin, Ezra

A businessman or client in one of Raffles's schemes.

Olphert

minor

Also known as Young Olphert

A young man involved in a cricket or social scene.

Lady May Paulton

minor

Also known as Lady May

A society lady who appears in a social context.

Miss Martin

minor

A female relative of Mr. Ezra B. Martin.

Dowager Lady Kirkleatham

minor

Also known as Lady Kirkleatham, the Kirkleatham

An elderly noblewoman mentioned in the narrative.