Ernest William Hornung (7 June 1866–22 March 1921) was an English author and poet known for writing the A. J. Raffles series of stories about a gentleman thief in late 19th-century London. Hornung was educated at Uppingham School; as a result of poor health he left the school in December 1883 to travel to Sydney, where he stayed for two years. He drew on his Australian experiences as a background when he began writing, initially short stories and later novels. After Hornung spent time in the trenches with the troops in France, he published Notes of a Camp-Follower on the Western Front in 1919, a detailed account of his time there. His other works include: Dead Men Tell No Tales (1899), The Black Mask (1901), No Hero (1903), A Thief in the Night: A Book of Raffles' Adventures (1905) and Mr. Justice Raffles (1909).