This early work by Walter Besant was originally published in 1891 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. Walter Besant could be described as the typical 19th century academic, educated at Cambridge he achieved first-class honours in mathematics and went on to teach at the Royal College in Mauritius, on returning to London he became secretary of the Palestine Exploration Fund, a cross between a scientific survey and intelligence gathering mission. While working for the 'PEF' he began to write fiction and became a sensation over night, 'Dorothy Forster' being the book he considered his favorite of his own works.