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, A Romance of Two Worlds. In her time, she 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. A recurring theme throughout Corelli"s books was her attempt to reconcile Christianity with reincarnation, astral projection and other mystical topics.