The work opens with an unnamed narrator listening to the reading of a manuscript written many years ago by a now dead young governess. The governess relates that soon after arriving to work in the house she learns that her predecessor had died under mysterious circumstances. As the tale unfolds the reader has room to doubt the reality of the evil that the governess feels is approaching.

Publishers Weekly #1 Best Seller for 1902.

This novel was the grandfather of the Western genre and follows a natural gentleman as he is entangled with the new Wyoming state's 1890s Johnson County War - the ugly side of the consolidation of The American West. A cabal of large vested interests and a diffuse collection of small players fight for control of access rights to publicly owned common range land. Rhetoric and actions escalate and culminated in some nasty lynchings, the use of a gang of hired Texan killers (with the tacit approval of the state Governor), the murder of a small rancher, the siege of the Texans by a posse of 200, and their eventual rescue by the U.S. sixth cavalry at the orders of the president.

Publishers Weekly #1 Best Seller for 1910.

"A delightful love story of English Life -- a love story conducted along lines that are refreshingly novel. The story is told with a charm of style that will captivate the reader." -- Publishers Weekly 1909

Publishers Weekly #1 Best Seller for 1900.

English soldier turned Virginia explorer unknowingly becomes entangled in royal intrigue when he makes a quick marriage. The author drives the plot through a series of adventures, each revealing more of the essential nature of the characters.

One Americas most popular historical novels and very hard to put down.