Step into a world of eerie tales and enchanting settings with Hume Nisbet, the Scottish writer who captured the hearts of many through his novel A Sweet Sinner. 

The Classic - A Sweet Sinner by Hume Nisbet 

In 1897, Scottish prolific writer Hume Nisbet wrote his novel A Sweet Sinner. This was one of Nisbet’s many novels. He had made a name for himself as a writer through his many ghost stories. But what made his stories stand out amongst the rest was that most of them took place in Australia. Nesbit traveled down under when he was 16 and spent seven years living and traveling to places such as Tanzania, New Zealand, and the South Seas. 

A Sweet Sinner was published during the height of his career and can only be described as a sensational and romantic novel with just a touch of mystery. The story begins in New South Wales Australia. Miss Kate Keath in the only child of a wealthy Australian squatter. At the age of 16 she moved to Scotland to finish her education. Her teacher, Jamie Glen finds himself drawn to Kate’s beauty and talent. But her studies are interrupted by the arrival of Havelock Gordon, a young man with mysterious intentions and an innate hate for Jamie. 

A Sweet Sinner

by Nisbet, Hume 

A Sweet Sinner (1897) is a novel by Hume Nisbet. Published at the height of his career as a leading ghost story writer of the Victorian era, A Sweet Sinner is a tale of romance and temptation written in the tradition of the sensation novel. Largely unknown by today's audience, Hume Nisbet was a versatile writer whose experiences as an artist and traveler inform his wide-ranging body of work. 

"Miss Kate Keath is her name, the only child and heiress of a wealthy and retired Australian squatter, who for the past twelve months has taken up his abode in the suburbs of his most ancient, picturesque, and historical Castletown. Miss Kate was a native of New South Wales, and till her fifteenth year had passed all her days in that sunny climate..." 

After an idyllic youth in Australia, Miss Kate Keath moves to Scotland to complete her education. Although she shows little promise as a painter, her teacher Jamie Glen finds himself drawn to her remarkable beauty and endeavors to show patience to her always. At her family's castle in the heather-streaked highlands, their lesson is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Havelock Gordon, a handsome young man with mysterious intentions and palpable contempt for Jamie. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Hume Nisbet's A Sweet Sinner is a classic of Victorian fiction reimagined for modern readers.

Our Modern Companion -  Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill

Gothic novels were known for being sensational and romantic with dark and spooky elements that add mystery and suspense to the plot. So what better modern companion to Nesbit’s A Sweet Sinner, than a modern-day gothic novel. Our Hideous Progeny, by C.E. McGill, begins in 1850s London and follows Mary, the great-niece of none other than Victor Frankenstein. 

Mary tries to make a name for herself in science alongside her husband Henry, but due to her lack of connections, lack of wealth, and her sharp tongue, her future looks bleak. After finding a stack of old papers, Mary decides to look into family’s past instead. A clue to the truth behind her great-uncle Frankenstein’s past might help her secure the money she needs to fund her future. She and Henry travel to Scotland where she meets a rival ready to steal her family secret and expose it to the world.  

Our Hideous Progeny

by McGill, C E

It is not the monster you must fear, but the monster it makes of men. . .

Mary is the great-niece of Victor Frankenstein. She knows her great uncle disappeared under mysterious circumstances in the Arctic, but she doesn't know why or how. . . .

The 1850s are a time of discovery, and London is ablaze with the latest scientific theories and debates, especially when a spectacular new exhibition of dinosaur sculptures opens at the Crystal Palace. Mary is keen to make her name in this world of science alongside her geologist husband, Henry--but despite her sharp mind and sharper tongue, without wealth and connections their options are limited.

When Mary discovers some old family papers that allude to the shocking truth behind her great-uncle's past, she thinks she may have found the key to securing her and Henry's professional and financial future. Their quest takes them to the wilds of Scotland; to Henry's intriguing but reclusive sister, Maisie; and to a deadly chase with a rival who is out to steal their secret.

A queer, feminist masterpiece inspired by Mary Shelley's classic, Our Hideous Progeny is a sumptuous tale of ambition and obsession, of forbidden love and sabotage and a twisty Gothic adventure that may forever change your view of human nature.