Chester K. Steele never existed... he was merely a figment of the publisher's imagination. Edward Stratemeyer (1862-1930) was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. After graduating high school, he began writing juvenile fiction and created the pen name "Chester K. Steele," to use for books written by several authors hired by his publishing company, the popular Stratemeyer Syndicate. The Chester K. Steele mysteries were intended for an older audience than the children's books like the Rover Boys and the Bobbsey Twins series Stratemeyer normally published. Edward wrote many books and stories for young readers using numerous pseudonyms. In 1891, he married Magdalene Baker Van Camp. They had two daughters. In 1905, he founded the Stratemeyer Literary Syndicate, for which he once again hired numerous writers whom he supplied with characters, plot outlines, and pseudonyms. The Mansion of Mystery is the only book he wrote himself. The other books, including the present one, were written by members of his publishing syndicate. This edited, reformatted classic mystery is published by Magic Lamp Press, who also distribute Gene Grossman's new "Peter Sharp Legal Mystery Series" of 12 modern thrillers, featuring little Suzi, the 12-year old computer genius. They may be seen at www.legalmystery.com