Marie Corelli was born in England. She was the illegitimate daughter of the Scottish poet Charles Mackey and his servant. Marie was sent to a Parisian convent for her education. Ardath was one of Corelli s weirdest stories. The hero is in love with a supernatural angel. Since he is not yet worthy of a union with her, he travels back 7000 years to a fantastic world where his transformations allow him to experience numerous adventures. Ardath like most of Corelli s writings has been criticized for being melodramatic and over written. For other readers this over dramatic writing style gives the work character and makes it an enjoyable book to read"