Capes was born in London, one of eleven children: his elder sister, Harriet Capes (1843-1927), was a noted translator and author of more than a dozen children's books. His uncle, John Moore Capes, published a semi-autobiographical novel. His grandfather, John Capes, had converted to Roman Catholicism, so Capes was brought up a Catholic, and educated at the Catholic college Beaumont College. However, he rapidly 'gave this up'.
Capes was a prolific Victorian author, publishing more than forty volumes - romances, mysteries, poetry, history - together with many articles for the magazines of the day. His early writing career was as a journalist, later becoming editor of a paper called The Theatre, which was well known in late nineteenth century London. Other magazines for which Capes wrote included Blackwood's, Butterfly, Cassell's, Cornhill Magazine, Hutton's Magazine, Illustrated London News, Lippincott's, Macmillan's Magazine, Literature, New Witness, Pall Mall Magazine, Pearson's Magazine, The Idler, The New Weekly, and The Queen.
Capes wrote numerous ghost stories, which were later rediscovered by anthologist Hugh Lamb in the 1970s. His 1899 story "The Black Reaper" features a supernatural personification of Death.
He finally committed to writing novels full-time, taking around four months for each novel. On several occasions he had two or three novels published in the same year - and even four in 1910. His first success came in 1897, when he entered a $30,000 competition for new authors sponsored by the Chicago Record. He was awarded second prize for The Mill of Silence, published by Rand, McNally that year. The following year the Chicago Record ran the competition again, and this time Capes won it with The Lake of Wine, published by Heinemann (book publisher).
He died in the 1918 ’flu epidemic. A memorial plaque commemorating his life is in Winchester Cathedral (where he worked in the years leading up to his death), affixed to the wall by the door which leads to the crypt.
Capes' son Renalt Capes, and grandson Ian Bernard Graham Burns, are also published authors.
(Information supplied by Capes's grandson Ian Bernard Graham Burns)
The Haunted Tower (as ‘Bevis Cane’), Spencer Blackett, London, 1888The Missing Man (as ‘Bevis Cane’), Eglington & Co, 1889The Mill of Silence, Rand, McNally & Company, Chicago, 1897The Lake of Wine, Heinemann, 1897, 8 editions published between 1898 and 1931 and held by 23 libraries worldwideAdventures of the Comte de Muette, William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh, 1898, 9 editions published in 1898 and held by 35 libraries worldwideThe Mysterious Singer, J.W. Arrowsmith,Our Lady of Darkness, Wm Blackwood, 1898At a Winter’s Fire, Arthur Pearson, 1899, Short Stories, 13 editions published between 1899 and 2006 and held by 173 libraries worldwide, (e-issued, 1978, by Ayer Co Publishing (USA)From Door to Door, Wm Blackwood, 1900, Short StoriesJoan Brotherhood, C. A. Pearson, London, 1900Love Like a Gypsy, Archibald Constable & Co, Westminster, 1901Plots, Methuen & Co, London, 1902, Short StoriesA Castle in Spain, Smith, Elder & Co, London, 1903The Secret in the Hill, Smith, Elder & Co, London, 1903The Extraordinary Confessions of Diana Please, Methuen & Co, 1904A Jay of Italy, Methuen, 1905, 7 editions published between 1905 and 1995 and held by 22 libraries worldwideThe Romance of Lohengrin, Dean and Son, 1906(?)Bembo: A Tale of Italy, Dutton & Co., NY, 1906, 2 editions published in 1906 and held by 33 libraries worldwideLoaves and Fishes (2nd edition 1906), 1906, Short StoriesA Rogue's Tragedy, Methuen & Co, London 1906The Green Parrot, Smith, Elder & Co, 1908Amaranthus: A Book of Little Songs, T. Fisher Unwin, 1908The Love Story of St Bel, 1909The Great Skene Mystery, Methuen & Co, 1909Why Did He Do It?, 1910Historical Vignettes, 1st Series, T. Fisher Unwin, 1910, 13 editions published between 1904 and 1965 in English and Czech and held by 57 libraries worldwideJemmy Abercraw, Methuen, 1910The Will and the Way, John Murray, London, 1910The Will and the Way, John Murray, London, 1910*Gilead Balm, T. Fisher Unwin, 1911, 4 editions published in 1911 and held by 28 libraries worldwideThe House of Many Voices, T. Fisher Unwin, London, 1911Jessie Bazley, Constable and Company, London, 1912Historical Vignettes, 2nd Series, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1912Bag and Baggage, Constable, 1912The Pot of Basil, Constable and Company, 1913The Story of Fifine, Constable, 1914 (re-issued 1919)The Fabulists, Mills & Boon, London, 1915, Short StoriesMoll Davis, George Allen & Unwin, 1916If Age Could, Duckworth and Co, London, 1916Where England Sets Her Feet, 1918A Fool’s Passion and Other PoemsThe Skeleton Key, W. Collins Sons, London, 1919, 8 editions published between 1919 and 1929 in English and held by 30 libraries worldwide. Re-issued as The Mystery of the Skeleton Key, HarperCollins, London, September 2015The Black Reaper, ed Hugh Lamb, Equation, Wellingborough, 1989, held by 25 libraries worldwideThe Black Reaper, ed Hugh Lamb, Ash-Tree Press, Ashcroft, British Columbia, 1998Dancing Shadows, Coachwhip Publications, Landisville, Pennsylvania, 2011Twists and Turns: Tales of Mystery, Adventure, Crime, and Humor, Coachwhip Publications, 2011The following stories are not included in the six short story collections:-
Wanted—A Bicycle. The Strand Magazine Vol. 17, June 1899Dunberry Bells. @ Papers Past New Zealand Newspapers, July 26, 1902As a Fly in Amber. The Illustrated London News, December 9, 1905. Also @ Papers PastThe Diamond George. The Illustrated London News, July 14–21, 1906. Also @ Trove Australia NewspapersLove and the Belt. The London Magazine Vol.17, 1906. Also @ TroveThe Vanishing Cheques. The London Magazine Vol.18, 1907. First published separately 1904 London: Daily MailNorah's Secret. Cardiff Times, February 15, 1908. Also @ TroveForfeits. @ Papers Past, January 9, 1909The Tell-Tale Hall-Mark. @ Trove, December 21, 1912St. Sigebert's Chimney. @ Trove, September 6, 1913A Popular Success. @ Trove, March 12, 1914
