Mary Mackay was a British novelist who began her career as a musician, adopting the name Marie Corelli for her billing. She gave up music, turning to writing instead and in 1886 published her first novel, &quot;A Romance of Two Worlds&quot;, regarded as one of the most culturally important Victorian bestsellers.<br /><br />&quot;A Romance of Two Worlds&quot; starts with a young heroine telling her story of coping with a debilitating illness that includes depression and thoughts of suicide. Her doctor is unable to help her and sends her off on a holiday where she meets a mystical character by the name of Raffaello Cellini, an Italian artist. Cellini offers her a strange potion which immediately puts her into a tranquil slumber, in which she experiences divine visions. This is the beginning of her journey to health, both spiritual and physical.<br /><br />In her time, Marie Corelli was the most widely read author of fiction but came under harsh criticism from many of the literary elite for her overly melodramatic and emotional writing.