Violet Forster's Lover

"Violet Forster's Lover" by Richard Marsh is a novel written in the early 20th century. The book follows Sydney Beaton, an officer entangled in a gambling scandal, who faces disgrace and poverty. Set against a backdrop of social turmoil, the story revolves around his tumultuous relationships, particularly with Violet Forster, a woman devoted to him amidst his downfall. The opening of the novel introduces us to Sydney Beaton in a tense poker game where he is accused of cheating. This moment escalates into chaos when Beaton, struggling with his dwindling finances and reputation, reacts aggressively to the accusation. As the scene unfolds, we learn more about his character and circumstances, including his strained relationship with his brother and his desperation for financial aid. After a series of unfortunate events leads him to leave the barracks in disgrace, Beaton’s life steadily declines, culminating in a dramatic encounter in Hyde Park that sets the stage for the complexities of his relationship with Violet and the challenges he will face moving forward. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Richard Marsh was the pseudonym of the English author born Richard Bernard Heldmann. A best-selling and prolific author of the late 19th century and the Edwardian period, Marsh is best known now for his supernatural thriller novel The Beetle, which was published the same year as Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), and was initially even more popular, outselling Dracula six times over. The Beetle remained in print until 1960. Marsh produced nearly 80 volumes of fiction and numerous short stories, in genres including horror, crime, romance and humour. Many of these have been republished recently, beginning with The Beetle in 2004. Marsh's grandson Robert Aickman was a notable writer of short "strange stories".