Mary Mackay (1855-1924) was a British novelist. She began her career as a musician, adopting the name Marie Corelli for her billing. She gave up music, turning to writing instead and in 1886 published her first novel, A Romance of Two Worlds. In her time, she was the most widely read author of fiction but came under harsh criticism from many of the literary elite for her overly melodramatic and emotional writing. A recurring theme throughout Corelli's books was her attempt to reconcile Christianity with reincarnation, astral projection and other mystical topics. Her books were a very important part of the foundation of today's New Age religion. Amongst her works are Vendetta: A Story of One Forgotten (1886), Thelma (1887), Ardath: The Story of a Dead Self (1889), Ziska (1897) and The Master-Christian (1900). She is also the author of Temporal Power: A Study in Supremacy (1902), God's Good Man: A Simple Love Story (1904) and The Secret Power (1921).