"Algernon Blackwood was one of the greatest writers of supernatural fiction of the twentieth century. An indefatigable traveller, an undercover agent during the First World War, a Searcher for the Red Cross, he was also an extremely popular storyteller on radio and television - indeed, he appeared on the first ever television programme. He originated the play, The Starlight Express, was a member of the magical order of the Golden Dawn, and was acquainted with most of the literary and artistic establishment of his day from Hilaire Belloc to Arthur Machen, from Sinclair Lewis to H. G. Wells." "Blackwood revealed that all of his stories were based on personal experiences or those of his close friends. This from the man whose stories take us to a lonely island in the river Danube where two travellers face the cosmic powers of the Earth in all their might; and deep into the deserts of Egypt where a lone man witnesses the spirit of the ancient past rise up like a gigantic wall of sand." "Mike Ashley has been researching his life for more than twenty years and has discovered a wonderfully complex character - a profound mystic, a delightful storyteller, an innocent child, a wild adventurer, and a remarkable man."--BOOK JACKET.