In the Web of Destiny — Brian Smith

Victor Fairlie is stranded on half-pay. While in his ancestral home he discovers that his family is haunted by an evil spirit. When he encounters his neighbour's beautiful daughter his emotions and the family curse bring about a series of perilous events that push Fairlie to the limits of human endurance, not only in England, but half-way across the world, where tropical splendour and death lie side by side.Arthur Lee Knight (1852 - 7 Jul 1944) was a popular author of adventure books in the late 19th and early 20th century. Around 1868 he joined the Royal Navy at the age of sixteen as a junior midshipman, where he served on the 51-gun screw frigate HMS Forte.Having been a midshipman in the navy he was familiar with life in the navy and many of the episodes in his novels - such as hunting Arab slave traders - are clearly events he experienced himself and give unique insight into the world and people in the Victorian age. His readable and often racy stories are characterized by authentic navy language of the time and evocative descriptions of seascapes, distant countries and unusual people.