Sheridan Le Fanu was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1814. He published many short stories and novels throughout his career, including Uncle Silas, and the collection In A Glass Darkly, which featured the lesbian vampire story 'Camilla', for which he is probably best remembered today. He is was a master of the macabre and the ghostly. He suffered from recurring nightmares and a weak heart, and died in his sleep in 1873. Robert Giddings is an eminent literary critic who regularly reviews for many publications including the Sunday Times, the Guardian and the New Statesman.

"'He succeeds in inspiring a mysterious terror better than any other writer... It would be a plausible thing to compare the place of Le Fanu in fiction with that of Dore in art.' M. R. James 'The Simenon of the peculiar.' V. S. Pritchett 'A master of mystery and horror.' Dorothy L. Sayers"