This early work by William Hope Hodgson was originally published in 1915 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Problem of the Pearls' is a short story of hidden pearls. William Hope Hodgson was born on 15th November 1877, in Blackmore End, Essex, England. Hodgson's first published short story was The Goddess of Death published in 1904. In 1907 he produced his first full-length novel 'The Boats of "Glen Carrig"'. He wrote many tales inspired by his time at sea, such as the Sargasso Sea Stories, which included titles such as 'From the Tideless Sea' (1907) and 'The Finding of the Graiken' (1913). He received much critical success for his short stories and novels but remained relatively poor. He is now widely remembered for 'The House on the Borderland' (1908) and 'The Night Land' (1912), both of which contain elements of science fiction. Upon the outbreak of World War I. Hodgson became a Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery. He received a mandatory discharge due to falling from his horse but re-enlisted and was killed by an artillery shell at Ypres in April 1918.