In âThe Man-Stealersâ we have the French plot to kidnap the Duke of Wellington to avenge Napoleonâs imprisonment. Matthew Phipps Shiel (1865â1947) was a prolific British writer of West Indian descent. His legal surname remained âShiellâ though he adopted the shorter version as a de facto pen name. He is remembered mostly for supernatural and scientific romances. His work was published as serials, novels, and as short stories. âThe Purple Cloudâ (1901; 1929) remains his most famous and often reprinted novel. If you havenât discovered the joys of Shiel âs mysteries there is a good place to start.