William Cobb is the pseudonym of the French writer and journalist Jules Lermin (1839-1915), whose life was as turbulent as the plots of his novels. Having started his career in journalism in 1859, he sided with the socialists, which led to his imprisonment and constant persecution. Despite this, Lermin left behind a rich literary legacy, including adventure novels, "police" detectives, a biographical dictionary, and a dictionary of slang. He wrote sequels to such famous works as Eugene Sue's "The Mysteries of Paris" and Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo."

This volume presents his gripping novel "The Mysteries of New York," in which the fates of the characters are intertwined in a complex tangle of secrets, revenge, and betrayal. Before his death, Tillinghast, once a major banker, reveals a terrible truth to his daughter: the secret he is passing on to her will make her a millionaire and help destroy her enemy, his partner Arnold Mesi, who betrayed him. However, to carry out her revenge, she must marry the tramp and swindler Bam, who, as it turns out, is actually John Gardwin, the son of a man hanged ten years ago for the murder of his own brother...

Family secrets, a tangled web of destinies, cruel revenge and the search for justice make this novel an example of a gripping Gothic melodrama in the spirit of classic French adventure literature.