Davis (1877-1930) was an American educator, historian and author. He began his formal teaching career in 1904 while finishing his doctorate and from 1909-27 was Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. After his retirement he intended to devote his time to writing but died aged 52 only three years later. Davis's books are characterized by his desire to tell a story and for his historical fiction he chose subjects with dramatic flavour. Similarly, the elements of narrative and drama are found in his non-fiction work, much of which was written for teaching purposes. This work was first published in 1903 and is reprinted from the Macmillan edition which formed part of their Little Novels from Favourite Authors series and includes a short biographical sketch, a photographic portrait of the author and two full-page illustrations.