The Amateur Cracksman by E. W. Hornung

Having read these stories, I have one major question, which is, where is the sleek, exciting, cleverly scripted, gorgeously shot, and beautifully atmospheric BBC adaptation? (Preferably with Matthew Goode playing Raffles, I can really see him in that role). I enjoyed these stories a lot, they're wonderfully indulgent, exciting and often really quite fascinating in terms of characterisation. Hornung is the brother-in-law of Conan Doyle, and Raffles is sort of the reverse of Sherlock Holmes, a gentleman thief with an adoring sidekick/narrator. But Raffles is a deliciously morally unsettling character; the first time he meets the narrator, Bunny, the latter is on the point of committing suicide, and Raffles looks at him with 'wonder, admiration, and a measure of pleased expectancy' as he presses the gun to his head. Raffles isn't above betrayal, manipulation, cruelty, and deception, but he does it all so charmingly. I don't think I found the plots very interesting or inventive, they mostly involve straightforward burglaries or rather predictable confusions of identity, but the characters of Raffles and the very inamoured Bunny were wonderful. There's also a kind of funny Victorian logic to the set-up; Raffles and Bunny have been brought up in the world of public schools, university, cricket, and clubs, of leisure and a profusion of money, and when they find themselves broke (as many upper-class people did at the time), they can't very well go out and get a job, probably because they wouldn't know how to do a single useful thing, nor have they been brought up to do an ordinary job, so they turn to the much more thrilling and active alternative of criminal activity. I thought that was rather clever; since the world doesn't deliver on the full, well-provided existence Raffles and Bunny have been brought up expecting will drop into their laps, they make their own adventures and excitement. I think the rather straightforward plots and fun dialogue would make these stories wonderful for an adaptation, and I really don't know what the BBC is thinking of.