Though the film is presumed lost, a surviving synopsis was published in the Moving Picture World on June 25, 1910. It states: "Thelma is a simple Norwegian maiden living alone with her father in the land of the midnight sun. Her father is one of the few remaining Vikings, famous in history. As such he is held in great reverence by his servants, who consider him somewhat in the nature of a king, and his daughter a princess. Outside of the years spent at school, Thelma has spent nearly all her time alone, her mother having died when she was a baby. When on a visit to her mother's grave, Thelma meets Sir Philip Errington, a distinguished young Englishman, who is touring Norway in his private yacht. Sir Philip is instantly attracted to her and, obtaining information as to where she lives, presents himself to Olaf, the Viking, and is finally admitted to his friendship and that of his daughter. Sir Phillip woos and wins the fair Thelma for his bride, and with her sails back to England. In London, Thelma at once creates a favorable impression and is cordially welcomed by all of Sir Philip's friends, who comprise the nobility and aristocracy of the metropolis. Lady Clara, alone, of all Sir Philip's old friends, wishes Thelma harm. She has long felt an affection for Sir Phillip, and resents the fact that he spurned her love and chose his bride in far-off Norway. This wicked and designing woman determines to wreck Thelma's happiness, and force her to leave England. This she contrives to do, in making Thelma believe that Sir Philip no longer loves her, but that in truth his heart belongs to Lady Clara. As proof of her statement she shows Thelma a letter written to her by Sir Philip in which he pleads the cause of his friend, who is in love with Lady Clara, and wishes her to become his wife. This Lady Clara claims is a love letter written by Sir Philip to her. Thelma, heartbroken, believing she has lost her husband's love, returns to Norway, just as her father, the Viking, breathes his last. She, with his faithful followers, complies with his last wishes, which are that he shall be buried as his forefathers were before him - sent out to sea in his burning ship. This form of burial had been that accorded to all Vikings for centuries past. After straining her eyes for a final look at the departing ship, Thelma retraces her steps to her mother's grave, and there, feeling that she is alone, prays for the strength to live. Here in a rocky dell before the tomb of her mother, where first she met the man who won her heart, Sir Philip again finds Thelma. A few words suffice to show her how she has been tricked, and a fervent protestation of his love convinces her that she still has a place in his heart. In Sir Philip's arms, she finds comfort for the loss of her father; she starts out bravely to again face the world, now sure of his unending love
Author Biography:
Marie Corelli 1 May 1855 - 21 April 1924) was a British novelist. She enjoyed a period of great literary success from the publication of her first novel in 1886 until World War I. Corelli's novels sold more copies than the combined sales of popular contemporaries, including Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G. Wells, and Rudyard Kipling, although critics often derided her work as "the favorite of the common multitude. Mary Mackay was born in London to Elizabeth Mills, a servant of the Scottish poet and songwriter Dr. Charles Mackay, her biological father. In 1866, eleven-year-old Mary was sent to a Parisian convent to further her education. She returned to Britain four years later in 1870. Mackay began her career as a musician, adopting the name Marie Corelli for her billing. Eventually she turned to writing and published her first novel, A Romance of Two Worlds, in 1886. In her time, she was the most widely read author of fiction. Her works were collected by Winston Churchill, Randolph Churchill, and members of the British Royal Family, among others. Mackay faced criticism from the literary elite for her overly melodramatic writing. In the Spectator, Grant Allen called her "a woman of deplorable talent who imagined that she was a genius, and was accepted as a genius by a public to whose commonplace sentimentalities and prejudices she gave a glamorous setting." James Agate represented her as combining "the imagination of a Poe with the style of an Ouida and the mentality of a nursemaid." A recurring theme in Corelli's books is her attempt to reconcile Christianity with reincarnation, astral projection, and other mystical ideas. Her books were a part of the foundation of today's New Age religion. Her portrait was painted by Helen Donald-Smith.
