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This thesis examines how the aesthetic and queer themes in E. W. Hornung’s Raffles stories have been transmediated in the TV-series Raffles. Hornung’s Raffles stories were not only immensely popular in their time, but were also a reflection of the fin-de-siècle and of the cultural role aestheticism played in the late Victorian society. Though a number of adaptations were made in the early 20th century, none of them adapted Hornung’s original stories to the same extent as the 1975-77 Yorkshire TV-series. In this study, material such as original scripts, notes, and correspondence from screenwriter Philip Mackie’s personal collection are examined from an adaptation theoretical perspective in relation to Hornung’s books and the finished TV-series. At the same time, a queer reading of the screenplays and of the televised series is made and compared to previous academic queer readings of Hornung’s stories. The adaptation is discussed in context with the time period in which it was produced and with the various factors that have formed it, such as financial restraints and medium related conventions. The study demonstrates that both aesthetic and queer themes that correspond to those found in Hornung’s stories can be found in the TV-series. It argues that the political climate of the 1970s both restrained how Raffles and Bunny’s relationship was portrayed in the series but also allowed for a more faithful adaptation of Hornung’s stories, including their aesthetic and queer themes, than had previously been possible.

This thesis examines how the aesthetic and queer themes in E. W. Hornung’s Raffles stories have been transmediated in the TV-series Raffles. Hornung’s Raffles stories were not only immensely popular in their time, but were also a reflection of the fin-de-siècle and of the cultural role aestheticism played in the late Victorian society. Though a number of adaptations were made in the early 20th century, none of them adapted Hornung’s original stories to the same extent as the 1975-77 Yorkshire TV-series. In this study, material such as original scripts, notes, and correspondence from screenwriter Philip Mackie’s personal collection are examined from an adaptation theoretical perspective in relation to Hornung’s books and the finished TV-series. At the same time, a queer reading of the screenplays and of the televised series is made and compared to previous academic queer readings of Hornung’s stories. The adaptation is discussed in context with the time period in which it was produced and with the various factors that have formed it, such as financial restraints and medium related conventions. The study demonstrates that both aesthetic and queer themes that correspond to those found in Hornung’s stories can be found in the TV-series. It argues that the political climate of the 1970s both restrained how Raffles and Bunny’s relationship was portrayed in the series but also allowed for a more faithful adaptation of Hornung’s stories, including their aesthetic and queer themes, than had previously been possible.