"The Head of the House of Coombe" – Lord Coombe is considered to be the best-dressed man in London. During one of his social forays, he meets a selfish young woman named 'Feather' with the face of an angel and he slowly drifts into her circle. Feather has a daughter named Robin, of whom she takes little notice. Robin hates Coombe because he separates her from her only friend, a little boy named Donal. Lord Coombe, however, grows fond of Robin and secures her a bright future, but only one person knows the secret of Coombe's determination to watch over her.
"Robin" is a sequel to The Head of the House of Coombe. It is the eve of the Great War and British soldiers are leaving to fight the Kaiser. Robin and Donal are destined to find each other again after being parted after their first meeting as children about 15 years earlier. Their love blossoms, but now they have to part again, as Donal is the prime cannon fodder and leaves off to war. After some time, the word comes that Donal is missing and presumed dead, leaving Robin shattered, with a child on the way.

Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) was a British novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels Little Lord Fauntleroy, A Little Princess, and The Secret Garden, although her romantic adult novels were also popular, according to list of bestselling novels in the United States. Burnett was well known in Washington society and hosted a literary salon on Tuesday evenings, often attended by politicians, as well as local literati. She enjoyed socializing and lived a lavish lifestyle. She traveled to England frequently and in the 1890s bought a home there, where she wrote The Secret Garden.