Book Anatomy · The Amateur Cracksman
The Amateur Cracksman: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for The Amateur Cracksman by E.W. Hornung. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7 H8 H9 H10 H11 H12 H13 H14 H15 H16 H17
H1. Readability score per chapter. Count
Flesch reading ease for the whole book is about 79 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
5,917 different words. On average 52 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 3,033 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
raffles, cricket, he's, albany, mackenzie. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 10.62 words ending in 'ly' and 7.23 likely adjectives per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
'ly' words per 1,000, chapter by chapter
H5. Share of weak verbs such as "was" and "had". Count
'Was', 'were', 'had', 'is' and 'are' make up 3.3% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 3.7% of sentences use a passive form such as 'was taken'. (rough estimate from word lists)
H7. Variety of sentence openings. Count
The five most common first words start 33% of sentences: i, but, and, the, he.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 584 |
| but | 190 |
| and | 148 |
| the | 139 |
| he | 133 |
| it | 126 |
| you | 124 |
| raffles | 87 |
| we | 75 |
| well | 70 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.79 of its mean on average (higher means a more varied rhythm).
Variation per chapter, chapter by chapter
H9. Similes and metaphors: how many, and of what kind. Both
79 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.5 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 45: One of his hands fell kindly on my shoulder, while the other slipped into my overcoat pocket, and I suffered him to deprive me of my weapon without …
Ch 1, para 61: "I don't know," said I, slightly puzzled by his tone. "I've made such a mess of my own affairs that I trust myself about as little as I'm …
Ch 1, para 68: "You're a nice chap, Bunny! A real desperate character--what? Suicide one moment, and any crime I like the next! What you want is a drag, my boy, and …
Ch 2, para 5: "Then I must; but I'm bound to say I don't like the idea, Raffles."
Ch 2, para 9: And, with a laugh, he threw some coals on the fire before turning down the gas like a careful householder. So we went out together as the clock …
Ch 2, para 34: "What do you mean?" I whispered, trembling like a leaf as his meaning dawned upon me. "Are we to get the money from the jeweller?"
Similes and metaphors are sparse and functional. Examples include comparing Raffles's escape methods to sporting moves (cricket metaphors in chapters 6 to 7) and describing the pearl as 'a great gray bean' (chapter 16). Most are brief and tied to action rather than mood.
Chapters: Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 16
Gentlemen and Players at single wicket, by Jove! (Ch 6, para 71)
it was nineteen minutes to two when he returned, head first, with the phial still between his teeth, and the cotton-wool rammed home to still the rattling of that which lay like a great gray bean within. (Ch 16, para 84)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 62%, sound 23%, touch 12%, taste 1%, smell 1%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 421 |
| sound | 156 |
| touch | 84 |
| taste | 10 |
| smell | 6 |
Sight dominates throughout. Sound appears in heist scenes (metallic crashes, footsteps). Touch is used for tension (handling stolen goods). Smell and taste are nearly absent. The book privileges visual detail over sensory immersion.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 5, Ch 8, Ch 16, Ch 17
The noises that even I could hear below, with the exception of one metallic crash at the beginning, were indeed incredibly slight (Ch 2, para 78)
it was nineteen minutes to two when he returned, head first, with the phial still between his teeth, and the cotton-wool rammed home to still the rattling of that which lay like a great gray bean within. (Ch 16, para 84)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
36 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 0.69 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Lists of three appear in planning sequences and escape routes. Repetition of key phrases marks moral turning points: 'I was a burglar' (chapter 3), 'I'm going to commit one' (chapter 10). Parallel structure in crime-and-escape cycles across chapters 2 to 7.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 5, Ch 10
Raffles was a burglar. I had helped him to commit one burglary, therefore I was a burglar, too. (Ch 3, para 5)
I know very well I'm going to commit one to-night! (Ch 10, para 22)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: anon, art.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| anon | 2 |
| art | 2 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
The book shows crime through action and dialogue rather than moral reflection. Bunny's guilt is shown through his hesitation and physical reactions in chapters 2 to 3, not stated directly. Raffles's character emerges through his choices and wit rather than description.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 5, Ch 10, Ch 14
Good old Bunny," he murmured, holding the lantern for one moment to my face; the next he was explaining his plans, and I was nodding, as though we had been fellow-cracksmen all our days. (Ch 2, para 49)
A man was lying at full length before the fire on his back, with a little wound in the white forehead, and the blood draining into his eyes. And the man was Raffles himself! (Ch 14, para 110)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is minimal and woven into action. Raffles's studio is revealed during the robbery plan (chapter 4). Settings emerge through dialogue and movement rather than static scene-setting. Action dominates; atmosphere is built through tension, not prose.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 4, Ch 16, Ch 17
it's a very useful little pied-à-terre--there's no saying how useful it might be at a pinch. (Ch 4, para 21)
it was nineteen minutes to two when he returned, head first, with the phial still between his teeth, and the cotton-wool rammed home to still the rattling of that which lay like a great gray bean within. (Ch 16, para 84)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 5.73 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| saw | 76 |
| thought | 67 |
| heard | 53 |
| knew | 52 |
| seemed | 22 |
| felt | 20 |
| wondered | 4 |
| noticed | 3 |
| watched | 3 |
| realized | 1 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from desperation (chapter 1) to dark comedy in heists (chapters 2 to 7), then to moral horror at murder (chapter 10), then to grim escape sequences (chapters 13 to 14), ending in ambiguous tragedy (chapter 17). Raffles's wit lightens dark moments throughout.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 10, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 17
It was the look that came instead which held my hand. Neither fear nor horror were in it; only wonder, admiration, and such a measure of pleased expectancy (Ch 1, para 42)
I know very well I'm going to commit one to-night! (Ch 10, para 22)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy works through Raffles's casual wit and Bunny's earnest panic. Humour peaks in planning scenes where Raffles outsmarts rivals (chapter 7) and in his disguises (chapter 4). The contrast between Bunny's moral hand-wringing and Raffles's amusement creates comic tension.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 7, Ch 12, Ch 16
Here am I trying every dodge--begging at the door one night--hiding in the shrubs the next--doing every mortal thing but stand and stare at the house as you went and did. (Ch 4, para 12)
By Jove, I must have faked her better than I thought! (Ch 13, para 22)
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