Catherine Louisa Pirkis was born in London, the daughter of Lewis Stephens Lyne, an accountant and comptroller-general of Inland Revenue. In 1872, at the age of 33, Pirkis married Frederick Edward Pirkis, fleet-paymaster for the Royal Navy, and the couple moved often. They had a daughter (born 1874 in Surrey) and a son (born 1876 in Belgium). Pirkis wrote her first novel, *Disappeared from Her Home*, in 1877; the mystery novel portends her creation of the popular lady detective **Loveday Brooke** in the 1890s. Thereafter she became a prolific novelist, short story writer, and journalist. Pirkis and her husband actively worked in the anti-vivisectionist movement and in organizations for the protection of animals, such as The National Canine Defense League. Pirkis died in 1910 after a long illness. - from victorianresearch.org