The Rogue's March

London: Cassell and Company Ltd, 1896. Hardcover. Very Good. Hardcover. Ernest William Hornung (1866-1921) was an English author and poet best known for writing the A.J. Raffles series about a gentleman thief in Victorian England. The Raffles series has been the subject of film and television adaptations. Hornung was married to the sister of his friend, Arthur Conan Doyle, and was also a friend of Oscar Wilde. For health reasons, he spent two years in Australia as a teen, and this influenced much of his writing. The Rogue's March is about the Australian convict transport system. The title of this book was taken from a convict's letter in which he writes: As for the chain-gangs, you oft-times hear them jingling half-a-mile away and 'tis nigh all the music we get, a kind of Rogue's March, to remind us where we are and why we came." First edition of a scarce early Hornung title. Bound in original tan-yellow cloth with gilt title to spine. Title, author, and flower design in black on front cover. Minor rubbing to boards and small dark stain to spine. A few spots of foxing to first and last few pages, browning to a few interior pages and to fore-edge, else very clean. 431 pages plus several pages of ads. LIT/4103.