First published in 1913, The Rocks of Valpré is a novel by the British writer Ethel M. Dell. While readers adored Ethel M. Dells novels, critics hated them with a passion; but she did not care what the critics thought. She considered herself a good storyteller nothing more and nothing less. Ethel M. Dell continued to write novels for a number of years. The Rocks of Valpré novel is set in the mid-nineteenth century when an officer wrongly imprisoned on Devils Island escapes and heads to Europe to rescue the love of his life from the villain. Like many of Dells stories and novels this harkens back to the day when marriage was a binding promise and considered both morally and legally until death. It is a touching love story that shows true love as selfless love.