Wilkie Collins's novel was published in 1876 and dedicated to Charles Reade. Collins explores the themes of 'destined spirits' and supernatural visions. He acknowledges taking the second idea from a case reported in Robert Dale Owen's Footfalls on the Boundary of another World. This describes how a ship's captain is convinced to change course after seeing an apparition and saves the passengers of a wrecked ship, including the person in the vision.