Speight, Thomas Wilkinson I T. Speight, Spelght I, 1830–1915, novelist. Born in Liverpool; educated at a foundation-school in north of England. For many years held a position with a railway company (his H.W. article "Up and down the Line" [XV, 601–07. June 27, 1857] records in detail the responsibilities and duties of railway executives and employees). Mentioned in Allibone as contributor to H.W., A.Y.R., and Belgravia. Some of his shorter novels appeared in the Gentleman's Annual. From 1867 to 1912, published some fifty works of fiction, long and short, e.g., Under Lock and Key (which he assured readers he had written before reading The Moonstone), A Secret of the Sea, The Mysteries of Heron Dyke and A Bootless Crime. Reviewers found his mystery novels "fascinating," "thrilling," "sensational."
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Author: Anne Lohrli; © University of Toronto Press, 1971