Blue cloth binding with black embossed pattern and gilt title.

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A solid Victorian novel with a good moral ending.

Sir Walter Besant (14 August 1836 – 9 June 1901) was an English novelist and historian. William Henry Besant was his brother, and another brother, Frank, was the husband of Annie Besant. The son of wine merchant William Besant (1800–1879), he was born at Portsmouth, Hampshire and attended school at St Paul’s, Southsea, Stockwell Grammar, London and King’s College London. In 1855, he was admitted as a pensioner to Christ’s College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1859 as 18th wrangler.

After a year as Mathematical Master at Rossall School, Fleetwood, Lancashire, and a year at Leamington College, he spent six years as professor of mathematics at the Royal College, British Mauritius. A decline in health compelled him to resign, and he returned to England and settled in London in 1867. From 1868 to 1885, he held the position of Secretary to the Palestine Exploration Fund. In 1871, he was admitted to Lincoln’s Inn.

In 1874, Besant married Mary Garrett (née Foster Barham), daughter of Eustace Foster-Barham, of Bridgwater, with whom he had four children. For some time he took care of his sister-in-law Annie Besant, a prominent women’s rights activist, socialist, and theosophist.

James Rice (26 September 1843 – 26 April 1882), English novelist, wrote a number of successful novels in collaboration with Walter Besant.

He was born in Northampton, and was educated at Cambridge University. He studied law, becoming a lawyer of Lincoln’s Inn in 1871.

In 1868 he bought the publication Once a Week. It was loss-making, but made him acquainted with Besant. Together they had a successful collaboration, which ended with Rice’s death. He died in Redhill.