Morrison, a novelist and short-story writer, is most often remembered for a series featuring the detective Martin Hewitt, but before that, he wrote several grim and violent books about life in the London slums. The Hole in the Wall is one of the most gripping adventure stories ever written. Stephen Kemp goes to live with his mysterious grandfather after his mothers death, and is gradually drawn into the seedy world which Captain Nat Kemp inhabits. The author brilliantly conveys the childs sharp observation of all that goes on around him, and builds up portrait of the picaresque life of the East End of London at the turn of the 20th century with humanity and humor he himself may have known as a boy. It is considered a classic of English story-telling and worth a read.