The Literary Work of E. W. Hornung (Day Twenty)

Today's featured article on Wikipedia centers on Ernest William Hornung (7 June 1866 – 22 March 1921), "an English author and poet known for writing the A. J. Raffles series of stories about a gentleman thief in late 19th-century London." After spending much of his life on the sickly side of health, he fell ill from influenza on a journey to the south of France and died on 22 March 1921, at age of only 54.

Four generalizable takeaways come from this article.

First, how the great influence of one can now be little known, let alone mentioned:

Much of Hornung's work fell out of favour as time passed; Rowland observed that "all of Hornung's other works have been forgotten, with the possible exception of Stingaree, but the cricketing Cracksman continues to enthral". The idea of a criminal as a positive character was one of Hornung's legacies, and Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism states that "critics have also interpreted Raffles as a prototype of the antihero in modern crime fiction". The academic Frank Wadleigh Chandler, describing Raffles's death, writes that "all his creator's attempts to portray him as a hero, rather than an anti-hero, deservedly fail." Valentine highlights one aspect of the stories was the mix of "devilry and daring" demonstrated by Raffles; in this respect he was a literary "forerunner of The Saint, James Bond and other insouciant types". The writer Colin Watson agrees, and called Hornung "a precursor of [Ian] Fleming".

Second, how one's work may carry on, yet never not changed:

The character continued in book form: the writer Philip Atkey, under the pseudonym Barry Perowne, obtained permission from the Hornung estate to continue the Raffles stories, and seven more novels followed between 1933 and 1940, with Raffles transformed from a gentleman thief to a tough adventurer.

Third, how regardless of the voluminous nature of one's work only a few themes either exist or are emphasized:

The academic Nick Rance identifies three categories of Raffles stories: "the rise of the New Woman", in which Raffles either escapes from romantic entanglements, or uses the infatuations of a woman in order to achieve his aims; "the rise of the plutocracy", in which Raffles steals from the nouveau riche as much as the upper classes; and those stories that seek "to reaffirm or re-establish a sense of middle-class identity". The last category is based on Raffles not being a member of "Society", only being accepted because of his cricketing ability and associated fame.

Fourth, how literature can and should utilize science for mutual benefit, not as an adversary:

Hornung kept abreast of scientific and medical developments, and was keen to incorporate them into his stories which, the critic for Contemporary Authors states, shows Hornung had "a streak of modernity and decided interest in new ideas". The Camera Fiend uses the modern technology of the camera as an instrument central to the plot, while the protagonist of The Crime Doctor uses psychology to identify criminals.