This novel is one of many stories that have been written about the 19th century English urban legend, Spring-Heeled Jack. The author is Colonel Thomas H. Monterey, a soldier of fortune and champion swordsman, who wrote a number of novels for Beadle’s New York Dime Library towards the end of his amazing career. The plot of the novel is very well constructed and displays a detailed knowledge of the English aristocracy. In the novel, a villain called “Spring-Heel Jack” is plotting to steal the title and estates of the Duke of Norfolk, and is prepared to kill anyone who gets in his way. As in all good mystery stories, the real identity of “Spring-Heel Jack” is not revealed until the final chapters of the novel.