Mrs. Oliphant was a 19th century Scottish novelist, biographer and historian. She is best known for her depiction of small town life. After the death of her husband she began writing as a means of supporting her children and those of her brother. Mrs. Oliphant produced more than 120 separate works, including novels, books of travel and description, histories and volumes of literary criticism. A Little Pilgrim in the Unseen was first published in 1899. Mrs. Oliphant's supernatural stories about the little pilgrim were very popular. A Little Pilgrim in the Unseen contains A Little Pilgrim in the Unseen and The Little Pilgrim Goes Up Higher.