Raffles (character)

Raffles (also known as Lord Lister) is a fictional character who first appeared in a German pulp magazine entitled "Lord Lister, genannt Raffles, der Meisterdieb" ("Lord Lister, called Raffles, the master thief") published in 1908,^[1] written by Kurt Matull and Theo Blakensee.^[2] The series was continued after a few issues as "Lord Lister, genannt Raffles, der große Unbekannte" ("...Known as Raffles, the Great Unknown"), which was the title of the first novel. The series became very popular and was translated, as well as continued in a number of countries and achieved such a popularity that Raffles was used in an Italian series as an opponent for Nick Carter, as Carter's European equivalent, a context in which he has been described as Europe's greatest pulp hero. Unlike Nick Carter, Lord Lister was never thoroughly updated. The Dutch series was the last surviving one, ending in 1968. The first English translation of The Great Unknown was published in February 2015.