Inspector Mackenzie
Encyclopedia
Inspector Mackenzie is a fictional Scottish
police officer. He is a recurring character in the Raffles stories written by Ernest William Hornung
. Mackenzie is a Scotland Yard
detective, on the trail of a Gentleman thief
who has committed a number of burglaries on members of British High Society
.
Mackenzie is continually frustrated by Arthur Raffles whom he has suspected for many years, but has never been able to provide a shred of evidence in proof of Raffles' presumed crimes. Despite the mutual antipathy, there is a cordial relationship and a grudging respect between the two. While Mackenzie is constantly outwitted by Raffles, it is suggested that he is a very diligent and effective policeman when it comes to other cases.
Occasionally he and Raffles work together, such as in the short story The Gift of the Emperor
in which the two cooperate to recover a pearl
from a German emissary on the orders of the Foreign Office, thereby saving the British government from an embarrassing scandal.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
police officer. He is a recurring character in the Raffles stories written by Ernest William Hornung
Ernest William Hornung
Ernest William Hornung , known as Willie, was an English author, most famous for writing the Raffles series of novels about a gentleman thief in late Victorian London....
. Mackenzie is a Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
detective, on the trail of a Gentleman thief
Gentleman thief
In the Victorian vernacular, a gentleman thief is a particularly well-behaving and apparently well bred thief. A "gentleman" is usually, but not always, a man with an inherited title of nobility and inherited wealth, who need not work for a living. Such a man steals not in order to gain material...
who has committed a number of burglaries on members of British High Society
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
.
Mackenzie is continually frustrated by Arthur Raffles whom he has suspected for many years, but has never been able to provide a shred of evidence in proof of Raffles' presumed crimes. Despite the mutual antipathy, there is a cordial relationship and a grudging respect between the two. While Mackenzie is constantly outwitted by Raffles, it is suggested that he is a very diligent and effective policeman when it comes to other cases.
Occasionally he and Raffles work together, such as in the short story The Gift of the Emperor
The Gift of the Emperor
The Gift of the Emperor is a short story by Ernest William Hornung featuring his popular creation A. J. Raffles. It is included in the original collection of Raffles stories The Amateur Cracksman, first published in 1899....
in which the two cooperate to recover a pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
from a German emissary on the orders of the Foreign Office, thereby saving the British government from an embarrassing scandal.