explain the spirit animating the novelist whilst engaged upon the volume under treatment.
It has been our endeavor to keep this biographical study free from offense to any living person, or to the memory of any who have passed away. In cases where we have found it necessary to refer in vigorous terms to the words or conduct of certain individuals, we have been actuated solely by a desire to have justice done to Miss Corelli. And in this respect we prefer not to be regarded as her champions so much as "counsel" briefed for the defense of a woman who has had, and still has, to contend with a very great number of adversaries, not all of whom are in the habit of conducting their warfare in the open.
In conclusion, we beg to offer Miss Corelli our grateful thanks for permitting us to have access to letters, papers, and other documents necessary to authenticate our facts, as without such permission we could not have undertaken our task.
Thomas F. G. Coates,
R. S. Warren Bell.
March, 1903.
