I haven't read any of the Raffles stories (I haven't even seen the TV show), but I do occasionally read the slash fanfic when I come across one. And this is a slash fanfic! Well, a slash play. Written by Graham Greene! Writer of Brighton Rock, The Power and the Glory, ect. ect. Graham Greene! How's that for legitimate.

I listened to this as a radio play. I prefer hearing/seeing plays performed rather than reading them, but a couple of the voices grated on me. Bunny sounds so... old, honestly. Like, decades older than Raffles. And Bosie (as in Lord Alfred Douglas) sounded really... gay. Too gay. Like, thounded GAAay. Oh well. Anyway, the play itself is... okay. It covers the resurrection of A.J. Raffles (Raffles "dies" and returns from the dead, like Sherlock Holmes) and includes a little thievery caper, but only in about an hour worth of material. It feels rushed. It could just be that a radio play is the wrong format for it. But... yeah it feels like Greene got an image in his head of Bunny and Bosie sitting in an Edwardian drawing room musing on their fallen men (which is a fantastic image) and was like, okay I think I can fashion a play outta that. And all the other bits that are fashioned around that scene are rushed extras so the play isn't only about being all sad about boyfriends. But it kinda is. ( )

This quite amusing play with a rather clever plot and excellent characterisations was probably written when Greene was having a break from being political and having a go at some group or other. It's extremely dated and probably best enjoyed as a production by your local amateur dramatic company who will thoroughly enjoy hamming it up in pencil-thin moustaches and fake I say old boy haw-haw accents.

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