Walpole, already a literary success due to the critical acclaim afforded to his earlier work, shot into international renown and financial security when he began writing ‘The Herries Chronicles’ during the later years of his life. His ‘anti-hero’, Francis Herries, is one of the great enigmas of English Literature and he based his saga in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, the Lake District.Francis, a devil to others and to himself, escapes from Doncaster to Borrowdale in Cumbria. What is it that drives him there? Why is this man, so rich in humanity and yet so brutal to his fellow beings, in such personal agony? What is the meaning of his dream about the white stallion?Walpole himself was a man pursued by demons. His lineage declared him an Englishman from the top drawer, his rewards and honours were numerous and yet adverse comment always gave him cause to doubt himself, his talents and his ambitions. Yet from this lack of confidence came stories which were to grip the public sensibility for several decades and make their creator one of the best paid authors that England has produced.