L. T. Meade was the pseudonym of Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith (1854-1914), a prolific writer of girls stories in late 19th century England. She began writing at 17 and produced over 300 books in her lifetime. Her most famous book was, A World of Girls, published in 1886. She was also the editor of a popular girl's magazine Atlanta. She also co-authored a number of notable mystery novels. With Robert Eustace, she wrote The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings, which featured a gang headed by a female criminal mastermind, Madame Koluchy. She wrote also, with Eustace, The Sorceress of the Strand that had another female criminal, Madame Sara, and with Clifford Halifax, M.D., she wrote Stories from the Diary of a Doctor. Amongst her other works are How it All Came Round (1883), The Palace Beautiful (1887), Polly: A New-Fashioned Girl (1889), A Girl of the People (1905), The Girl and Her Fortune (1906), Turquoise and Ruby (1906), The Little School-Mothers (1907), Three Girls from School (1907), and The Court-Harman Girls (1908). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.