"The Gift of the Emperor" is a short story by

E. W. Hornung Ernest William Hornung (7 June 1866 – 22 March 1921) was an English author and poet known for writing the A. J. Raffles (character), A. J. Raffles series of stories about a gentleman thief in late 19th-century London. Hornung was educa ...

, and features the gentleman thief

A. J. Raffles Arthur J. Raffles (usually called A. J. Raffles) is a fictional character created in 1898 by E. W. Hornung, brother-in-law of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Raffles is, in many ways, an inversion of Holmeshe is a "gentle ...

, and his companion and biographer,

Bunny Manders Harry Manders (almost exclusively known as Bunny Manders) is a fictional character in the popular series of Raffles stories by E. W. Hornung. He is the companion of A. J. Raffles, a cricketer and gentleman thief, who makes a living robbing the ...

. The story was first published in October 1898 by ''

Cassell's Magazine ''Cassell's Magazine'' is a British magazine that was published monthly from 1897 to 1912. It was the successor to ''Cassell's Illustrated Family Paper'', (1853–1867) becoming ''Cassell's Family Magazine'' in 1874, ''Cassell's Magazine'' in 1897 ...

''. The story was also included as the eight and last story in the collection ''

The Amateur Cracksman ''The Amateur Cracksman'' is an 1899 short story collection by E. W. Hornung. It was published in the UK by Methuen & Co., London, and in the US by Scribner's, New York.Rowland, p. 280. Many later editions ( T. Nelson & Sons, 1914; University of ...

'', published by Methuen & Co. Ltd in London, and

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

in New York, both in 1899. The events in the story lead to the eventual exposure of Raffles as a thief and contribute significantly to his cynicism about British

High Society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

Plot

Part one

Bunny is struggling to earn an honest living as a journalist. He writes an article about a priceless pearl to be given by a European emperor to Queen Victoria. While boating with Raffles on the Thames, Raffles invites Bunny on a sea voyage for Italy. Later, when Bunny boards their ship at Southampton, however, he discovers Raffles talking to a lady, Miss Werner. In private, Raffles tells Bunny of his plan to steal the emperor's pearl from a German officer, Captain von Heumann, on the ship. Raffles fears that Bunny has turned too honest, but Bunny confesses that honest living has failed him.

Part two

Bunny is jealous of the attention Raffles pays daily to Miss Werner. Meanwhile, Raffles insists that he and Bunny share one particular cabin. One afternoon, Raffles reveals his plan to Bunny. With Bunny's help, Raffles will climb through the vent in their room's wall, which leads to von Heumann's cabin. The exact location of the pearl was told to him by Miss Werner, who learned it from von Heumann, who is a rival for her affections. Raffles's true feelings about Miss Werner remain ambiguous.

Part three

Very early morning, Raffles squeezes through the vent, chloroforms the sleeping von Heumann, and takes the pearl. Bunny wants to disembark immediately with the pearl; Raffles insists they stay. Later that day, Inspector Mackenzie boards the ship. Soon after, Raffles and Bunny are summoned by the captain, the chief officer, Mackenzie, and von Heumann. Not only has Mackenzie seen through Raffles's vent trick, but he also presents his warrant to arrest Raffles for past burglaries. Defeated, Raffles confesses that the pearl is hidden in one of his revolver's cartridges. Raffles pleads to be allowed to say good-bye to Miss Werner, whom he has asked to marry. He hastily begs Bunny's forgiveness, then goes to talk to Miss Werner. In doing so, however, Raffles dives into the water, escaping. Ultimately, Bunny is imprisoned and ruined. Raffles's fate remains uncertain.

Adaptations

Television

The story was adapted for the 1977 ''Raffles'' television series, though the plot was changed significantly. An envoy of the German Emperor

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

arrives in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, on his way to the South Sea. He is carrying a precious

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

which he is due to present as a gift to a local King. This is regarded with horror in London, by those who regard it as a German attempt to interfere in a British

sphere of influence In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military or political exclusivity. While there may be a formal al ...

. Eager to avert this potentially embarrassing situation, a

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

official approaches

Gentleman thief A gentleman thief, gentleman burglar, lady thief, or phantom thief is a stock character in fiction. A gentleman or lady thief is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courteousness, and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to ...

A. J. Raffles to steal it back from him while he is in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, staying at a

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

. Raffles agrees provided he is permitted to keep the pearl, valued at an estimated £100,000. He travels out to stay at the house with his companion

and waits for a chance to steal the pearl. He is assisted by

Inspector Mackenzie A. J. Raffles is a British fictional character – a cricketer and gentleman thief – created by E. W. Hornung. Between 1898 and 1909, Hornung wrote a series of 26 short stories, two plays, and a novel about Raffles and his fictional ...

, his long-term rival, who has been ordered by his superiors to aid Raffles. Shunning his help, Raffles successfully manages to steal the pearl by climbing down a chimney and evades an attempt by the Germans to recover it. Raffles ultimately is betrayed by the foreign office official who has Raffles has arrested for the theft, and the pearls are sent back to Germany in exchange for an agreement that they will not be given to the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

King. The story ends with Raffles not being exposed as a criminal to the public. He continues to live as a member of High Society.

Radio

BBC Radio adapted the story into the twelfth episode of its Raffles radio drama, "A Gift of the Emperor", which first aired on 6 July 1988. The drama features Jeremy Clyde as Raffles and

Michael Cochrane Michael Cochrane is an English actor. Biography Cochrane was born in Brighton, East Sussex. He was educated at Cranleigh School. He has had many television and radio roles including Oliver Sterling in the Radio 4 soap opera ''The Archers'', ...

as Bunny. The plot follows that of the original story with some minor changes: * Bunny begins the episode by quoting the first line written by

Dr. John Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle fe ...

from "

The Final Problem "The Final Problem" is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in ''The Strand Magazine'' in the United Kingdom, and ''McClure's'' in the United States, under the title ...

", the short story by

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

which features the apparent demise of

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

. The line is, "It is with a heavy heart that I take up my pen to write these the last words in which I shall ever record the singular gifts by which my friend Mr. Sherlock Holmes was distinguished." Bunny only replaces the words "Mr. Sherlock Holmes" with "A. J. Raffles". * Bunny begins very financially well-off in the episode. * Unlike the original story's ladylike Miss Werner, Miss Werner is obnoxious and unlikeable in the drama. Raffles makes it clear that he is only using her. * In the original story, Raffles strips all of his clothes before entering the vent. In the drama, he reluctantly keeps his clothes on, in case of any sudden need to be dressed. * In the drama, Raffles tries to bargain away the pearl to Inspector Mackenzie, in exchange for Bunny's release. Failing that, he then threatens to destroy the pearl, to no avail. * In the original story, Raffles bids Bunny to keep the mate away so that Raffles can escape. In the drama, Raffles instead creates a distraction by pushing Miss Werner overboard.

References

;Notes ;Sources * *

External links

*
Free online annotated version of "The Gift of the Emperor"

BBC Radio adaptation of "A Gift of the Emperor"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gift of the Emperor 1898 short stories A. J. Raffles short stories Works originally published in Cassell's Magazine Diplomatic gifts