M. P. Shiel (1865 - 1947)

Matthew Phipps Shiell (21 July 1865 – 17 February 1947) — known as M. P. Shiel — was a prolific British writer of West Indian descent. His legal surname remained "Shiell" though he adopted the shorter version as a de facto pen name. He is remembered mostly for supernatural and scientific romances. His work was published as serials, novels, and as short stories. The Purple Cloud (1901; 1929) remains his most famous and often reprinted novel.