Arthur Hornblow (1865-1942) was an American author. His works include: The Talker (1912), Bought and Paid For (1912), The Mask (1913), The Easiest Way, By Right of Conquest, and The Profligate. "In presenting this story of a déclassée who attempts to redeem her scarlet past by a disinterested, honest attachment only to meet with dire, miserable failure, the authors wish to make it plain that their heroine and her associates are in no way to be identified with the dramatic profession. Laura Murdock represents the type of woman of easy virtue who is sometimes seen behind the footlights and helps to give the theatre a bad name. Although destitute of the slightest histrionic talent, she styles herself an "actress" in order to better conceal her true vocation. "