author
Houghton Townley
1866–1938
A British writer of adventure, society drama, and inventive mystery, he brought Captain Houghton Townley’s imagination to novels such as The Gay Lord Waring and The Bishop’s Emeralds. Several of his stories later reached the silent screen, while others explored early science-fiction ideas—including underground burrowing machines.
1 Audiobook
The Bishop's emeralds
by Houghton Townley
About the author
Born in 1866, Captain Houghton Townley was a British writer who also served in the British Army. His published works included The Bishop’s Emeralds (1908), The Scarlet Feather (1909), English Woodlands and Their Story (1910), and The Gay Lord Waring (1910), along with The Secret of the Raft, A Minion, and His Own Accuser.
Townley’s fiction crossed several popular genres, from English society drama to adventure and speculative tales. The Gay Lord Waring, The Splendid Coward, and The Bishop’s Emeralds were adapted into films during the silent era. He also wrote under the pseudonym Colin Collins, including an early story about a mechanical “burrowing machine.” He died in 1938.