The Gift of the Emperor

"The Gift of the Emperor"
Short story by E. W. Hornung
1898 Collier's illustration by E. V. Nadherny
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s)Crime fiction
Publication
PublisherCassell & Co
Media typePrint (Magazine)
Publication dateNovember 1898
Chronology
SeriesA. J. Raffles
 
The Return Match
 
No Sinecure

"The Gift of the Emperor" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in October 1898 by Cassell's Magazine. The story was also included as the eight and last story in the collection The Amateur Cracksman, published by Methuen & Co. Ltd in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons 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.