Minkie (Illustrated Edition)

Tracy (1863-1928) was a British journalist and prolific writer of fiction. Some of his works were published under the pseudonyms Gordon Holmes and Robert Fraser, names which were at times shared with M P Shiel, a collaborator from the start of the 20th century. He was born in Liverpool into a well-to-do middle-class family and was educated first at home and later at the French Seminary at Douai, after which he joined the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment. He showed an affinity for the army and by his 18th birthday had earned a full certificate for captaincy, an unusual accomplishment at the time. Around 1884 he fell into journalism, writing first for The Northern Echo at Darlington, later moving to a paper in Cardiff, Wales, and then on to Allahabad where he edited the Morning Post. He returned to England in 1892, holding editorial poistions at The Sun and The Evening News, and wrote several short stories before the first of his many novels, The Final War, appeared in serial form in Pearson's in 1896. This short humorous tale was published in 1907 and includes six illustrations.