Catherine Louisa Pirkis was a Victorian author who wrote primarily romance and mystery novels and short fiction, serialized in the literary magazines of the day.

Pirkis’s typical story revolves around the difficulties of maintaining social standing as a young Victorian woman while something bigger than society is happening to you. The stories are written with warmth for the always strong-spirited lead, and typically blend a wry sense of humor into the challenges her characters face. Pirkis was fond of animals in her stories, especially the dogs that appear many times over; the last short story in this collection—“Jack: A Mendicant”—is a tragedy that was specifically written to highlight the danger to stray dogs in Victorian England from vivisectionists, and the proceeds it earned went to London’s biggest dog charity.

This collection includes all of Pirkis’s published short fiction, with the exception of the stories of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective which are collected in their own omnibus.