The Gift of the Emperor

Written by E. W. Hornung

Narrated by Gordon Griffin

A short story from British Library Crime Classic Deep Waters. The Gift of the Emperor features Hornung’s most famous character, gentleman thief A. J. Raffles. When his friend and struggling journalist Bunny Manders tells Raffles of his recent article detailing a priceless pearl gifted to Queen Victoria by a European emperor, Raffles quickly sees an opportunity to get his hands on it and invites Bunny to accompany him on a sea voyage to Italy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Soundings
• Release date: Jun 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781407986197

E. W. Hornung

Ernest William Hornung (1866 –1921) was a prolific English poet and novelist, famed for his A. J. Raffles series of novels about a gentleman thief in late 19th century London. Hornung spent most of his life in England and France, but in 1883 he traveled to Australia where he lived for three years, his experiences there shaping many of his novels and short stories. On returning to England he worked as a journalist, and also published many of his poems and short stories in newspapers and magazines. A few years after his return, he married Constance Aimée Doyle, sister of his friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with whom he had a son. During WWI he followed the troops in French trenches and later gave a detailed account of his encounters in Notes of a Camp-Follower on the Western Front. Ernest Hornung died in 1921.