A gentleman thief, gentleman burglar, lady thief, or phantom thief is a stock character in fiction. A gentleman or lady thief is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courtesy, and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to steal, and often has inherited wealth. They steal not only to gain material wealth but also for the thrill of the act itself, which is often combined in fiction with correcting a moral wrong, selecting wealthy targets, or stealing only particularly rare or challenging objects.
André Brulé as Arsène Lupin, a gentleman thief and master of disguise
A. J. Raffles (character)
Arthur J. Raffles is a fictional character created in 1898 by E. W. Hornung, brother-in-law of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Raffles is, in many ways, an inversion of Holmes – he is a "gentleman thief", living at the Albany, a prestigious address in London, playing cricket as a gentleman for the Gentlemen of England and supporting himself by carrying out ingenious burglaries. He is called the "Amateur Cracksman" and often, at first, differentiates between him and the "professors" – professional criminals from the lower classes.
Raffles (right) lock-picking with Bunny's assistance, by John H. Bacon (1898)
Raffles (right) with Bunny after returning from Italy, by F. C. Yohn (1901)
Raffles using his rope-ladder, by Cyrus Cuneo (1905)
Kyrle Bellew in the Broadway production of Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1903)