The Tempting of Tavernake is written by Edward Phillips Oppenheim. He composed some one hundred and fifty novels, mainly of the suspense and international intrigue nature, but including romances, comedies, and parables of everyday life. The hero of this novel, however, is very unusual for several reasons. Tavernake is unemotional, unable to sympathize or even understand the most common social situations. He is diligent, precise, obsessive in his pursuit of wealth, but oblivious to the feelings of the people around him. They simply dont matter. He meets Beatrice Burnay an American in London without any money. Odd, uncomfortable, almost autistic, he rescues from hunger and possible suicide, and in return she educates him on the possibilities of human emotion.