H. B. Marriott Watson was a prolific author and journalist, writing more than forty books, including seventeen short story collections and a collection of essays. For the first nine years of his life, he lived in various localities in Victoria, as his father, an Anglican priest, took up ministries. He left Australia for good in 1873 when his father was made incumbent of St John's church in Christchurch, New Zealand. Marriott Watson left New Zealand in 1885, and lived the rest of his life in England. He was married to the English poet and critic Rosamund Marriot-Watson who wrote under the pseudonym Graham R. Tomson.
Although he referred to Australia as his 'native land', Marriott Watson wrote only a few stories with an Australian setting. In a letter to Alfred Deakin (dated 12 September 1902), a future prime minister of Australia, he wrote: 'I should like to write an Australian novel once, but I find I don't know my own nation land intimately enough, and I am not arrogant enough to pretend to others that I do' (James Doig, The Devil of the Marsh and Other Stories).
Marriott Watson specialised in adventures and historical romances, but he also wrote
mystery, fantasy and supernatural fiction. His work appeared in four
Australian late nineteenth century anthologies: In Australian Wilds and Other Colonial Tales and Sketches ed. Philip Mennell (1889); Over the Sea : Stories of Two Worlds ed. A. Patchett Martin (1890); Under the Gum Tree : Australian 'Bush' Stories ed. Mrs. H. Patchett Martin (1890) and By Creek and Gully : Stories Mostly of Bush Life ed. Lala Fisher (1899).
