F. Marion Crawford (1854-1909), an American writer born in Italy, was a world-traveler, linguist, yatchsman, and bestselling author, who specialized in contemporary or historical novels set in exotic places. Among his best-known titles are Zoroaster , With the Immortals , The Cigarette-Maker's Romance , The Witch of Prague , and many others. Among lovers of fantasy and the macabre, he is best remembered for his Arabian Nights novel Khaled and his supernatural collection, The Complete Wandering Ghosts . The Little City of Hope is one of his most charming works, a book to sit on the same shelf with the Christmas stories of Charles Dickens.