Matthew Phipps Shiel

Matthew Phipps Shiel (1865–1947) grew up in the Caribbean and studied in Barbados and at King’s College London, among other subjects translation, mathematics and medicine. He taught mathematics and, strongly influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, began publishing short stories in 1895. His first novel appeared in 1896. Shiel left an extensive body of literary work, which later fell largely into obscurity. He died in Chichester in 1947.