Hugh Seymour Walpole was an English novelist. A prolific writer, he
published thirty-six novels, five volumes of short stories, two
plays and three volumes of memoirs. His skill at scene-setting, his
vivid plots, his high profile as a lecturer and his driving
ambition brought him a large readership in the United Kingdom and
North America. A best-selling author in the 1920s and 1930s, his
works have been neglected since his death.