author
S. R. (Samuel Robert) Keightley
1859–1949
An Irish barrister and public figure who also wrote popular historical adventure novels, he brought a lawyer’s precision and a storyteller’s pace to fiction. His books often draw on Irish and European history, mixing politics, conflict, and vivid period detail.
1 Audiobook
The Crimson Sign A Narrative of the Adventures of Mr. Gervase Orme, Sometime Lieutenant in Mountjoy's Regiment of Foot
by S. R. (Samuel Robert) Keightley
About the author
Born in Belfast in 1859, he was educated privately and at Queen’s College Belfast, where he studied classics and law. He was called to the Irish bar in 1883 and went on to build a career not only as a barrister and politician, but also as a novelist.
His fiction was especially known for historical themes. Works associated with him include Heronford, A Man of Millions, The Last Recruit of Clare’s, and The Crimson Sign, and reference sources describe him as a writer whose novels often drew on real events and people.
He was later knighted and remained a notable figure in Irish public life as well as in literature. He died in 1949.