Locke (1863-1930) was a British novelist, dramatist and playwright best-known for his short stories. Born in British Guiana to English parents, the family moved to Trinidad & Tobago the year following his birth and he was then sent to England to be educated aged three, remaining there for nine years. He returned to England in 1881 to attend Cambridge University, graduating with honours in Mathematics in 1884. He took up teaching for some time, a profession he disliked, and published his first novel in 1894. However, he did not achieve any real success as a writer for another decade, with The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne (1905) and The Beloved Vagabond (1906). Many of his works have been adapted for stage and screen and he made the list of best-selling novels for the year in the US five times. This novel was first published in 1898.