Ernest William Hornung was a British author born in Middlesbrough. He spent most of his life in England and France, but in 1884 left for Australia and stayed for two years where he working as a tutor. In 1893 he married Constance Doyle, the sister of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in 1893. His most famous creation, 'gentleman thief' A. J. Raffles, first appeared in Strand magazine and then in other British magazines during the 1890s. The stories were later published in The Amateur Cracksman (1899), a collection. Other titles in the series include The Black Mask (1901), A Thief in the Night (1905), and the full-length novel Mr Justice Raffles (1909).
Robert Giddings is a literary critic and broadcaster who regularly writes for publications including the Tribune and the Dickensian. He is the author of A Student's Guide to Charles Dickens, and co-author with Keith Selby of The Classic Serial on Television and Radio.