Author Description

This is a Christmas short story taking place in the early 1900s in England with three totally different wise men. Written by Wm. J. Locke (1863 - 1930), this is a delightful tale so totally appropriate for this season and full of surprises. The story begins outside a bookstall at Paddington Station, as three rather grumpy curmudgeons meet up to discover they have all been invited to the same place for Christmas, a place called Foulis Castle owned by the Deverills, a couple each of the three knows only slightly, if at all, in what Sir Angus McCurdie describes as a "God-forsaken place in Cornwall." The three are eminent in their respective fields, a physicist already mentioned, a professor named Biggleswade, an authority on Assyriology, and the Rt. Hon. Viscount Doyne, an Empire Builder and Administrator. The three are doing their best to avoid their homes and relatives on Christmas Day. In short, they are each the incarnation of Scrooge. But fate intervenes in their plans and changes their lives (Lorraine Montgomery, Goodreads) Included in this Illustrated Edition of the 1910 version of "A Christmas Mystery" are the four original illustrations, rejuvenated, and 10 additional Christmas illustrations that are unique to this edition of the book.