The Great Beginning

By Theo von Blankensee and John Gregory Betancourt

This is the first English-language translation of the book that launched the long-running Lord Lister, Alias Raffles mystery series. This popular Dutch creation first appeared in 1910 and ran hundreds of volumes over the next decade.

In the first volume, Lord Lister (Raffles) is well into his life of crime, and he acquires a sidekick, tries to outwit the police, and must escape the unscrupulous men he has been targetting -- who now want him dead!

Inspired by the A.J. Raffles tales of E.W. Hornung, this series was clearly a near complete copy, but has a unique charm of its own. The first book includes an introduction by mystery author John Gregory Betancourt, who also translated it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wildside Press
• Release date: Feb 21, 2024
• ISBN: 9781667631981

Book preview

Table of Contents

THE GREAT UNKNOWN, by Theo von Blankensee and Kurt Matull

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

THE GREAT UNKNOWN,

by Theo von Blankensee and Kurt Matull

Lord Lister, Alias Raffles #1

INTRODUCTION,

by John Gregory Betancourt

The Lord Lister, Alias Raffles series was a long-running line of Dutch detective stories featuring the character Lord Lister (who moonlights as a gentleman thief and likes to leave calling cards signed John Raffles). The character was created by writers Theo von Blakensee and Kurt Matull. The series was published in the early 20th century and was (quite obviously) inspired by the E.W. Hornung’s famous gentleman thief, A.J. Raffles. (Sherlock Holmes is also present as a character, but in this first volume, he remains off stage.)

The Lord Lister/John Raffles character is remarkably similar to Hornung’s Raffles in many ways, except one: this Raffles is more of a Robin Hood figure who uses his ill-gotten gains to help unfortunates who have fallen prey to legal thieves and scalawags, such as moneylenders. His daring thefts and criminal escapades are imbued with a sense of morality and justice. Even his policeman nemesis in the first story, Chief Inspector Baxter, turns out to be more of a villain than Raffles.

Like Hornung’s stories, the Lord Lister books are set in England. And like Hornung’s Raffles, Lister has a partner in crime—whom he acquires in this first story.

The Lord Lister series proved quite popular in Germany and The Netherlands, and the stories ran in their own line of magazines much like the nickel weeklies so popular in the United States. The Lord Lister series ran into the hundreds of volumes. The closest comparison today would be the German Perry Rhodan series, which is the longest-running science fiction series of all time, numbering in the tens of thousands of volumes.

Despite the similarities between their Raffles characters, E.W. Hornung never complained about this knockoff series, as far as I can tell—if he even knew about it. Perhaps it’s because the term Raffles had become a generic name for a gentleman thief by this time. But as you will soon see, this Raffles is so close to the original that they might as well have been the same person—even Bunny, Raffles’ sidekick from Hornung’s version, has a counterpart in Charly Brand. It’s a wonder to me that the authors weren’t sued over it the way Bram Stoker sued (and nearly suppressed) the Dracula knockoff film, Nosferatu.

Information on the Lord Lister stories and their authors is scarce in English-language reference books, unfortunately. To translate this volume, I worked from a text originally published in Holland. Further confusing things, the volumes I have seen are undated. From internal evidence, I suspect the series began in 1910. Since the final Hornung book appeared in 1908, this date allows time for the complete Raffles series to have been translated into German and become popular. The last volume I have seen is #382, which has its publication date attributed as 1921.

There are no references to war, so it clearly predates World War I. Horse-drawn carriages are still in use, though automobiles are present, too. Likely the series ended in the early days of World War I. Wartime paper shortages, firebombings, and paper drives no doubt explain the scarcity of surviving copies.

I find the Lord Lister stories both fascinating and charming, and I hope you enjoy this first volume.

CHAPTER 1

Assailed Innocence

It was around six o’clock in the evening when the wealthy silk importer Lucas Brown ordered his chief accountant to close the business.

The windows of the building, located on the Strand in London, overlooked this wide thoroughfare, and Mr. Brown could see the bustling turmoil of the giant city through the lowered blinds.

Before his accountant left the private office, Mr. Brown said to him:

Send the new clerk, Miss Walton, to me. I need to speak with her.

The accountant bowed, attempting to hide an knowing smile. He knew his boss and what such an interview meant. Mr. Brown, as a matter of principle, only hired young, inexperienced girls who were physically attractive to him.

Are you satisfied with Miss Walton’s work? Mr. Brown asked the accountant.

Certainly, he replied, she is performing her duties excellently.

Ah, good, said Mr. Brown, rubbing his fleshy hands, I am pleased to hear that! She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl. That girl could have a bright future if I take her under my wing.

Again, the accountant bowed, hiding a smile.

As he was about to leave the room, the shouting of newspaper boys in the street offering the latest evening papers rang