The Wicked French Maid

"The Wicked French Maid" made its appearance in Paris at the turn of the century when it appeared as one of the so called "yellow back" novels which were secretly bought and read and kept carefully locked in closets in case they fell into the hands of the young and innocent. Many versions of the story have appeared. It has been changed, modified and plagiarized until it had become practically unrecognizable from the original.
Even the author's name has undergone modifications doubtless to obscure the identity of the plagiarists.