George Moore was a prominent Irish writer and art critic during the Victorian era. Moore is considered to be one of the first English authors to adopt the ideas of the French realists as Emile Zola was a major influence on his work. Moore himself, with books such as Esther Waters, was an influence on the great James Joyce.

The Lake, published in 1905, tells the story of an Irish priest who struggles with his duties against the feelings he has for a charming but disreputable woman.