Hanaud at his best he sets out to solve one of the cleverest cases in his typical diligent fashion. A mystery drawing heavily on Mason's knowledge of and affection for cats, the feline protagonist was in fact based on one of Mason's actual pets.Alfred Edward Woodley Mason was a British author and politician. He authored more than 20 books, including At The Villa Rose, a mystery novel in which he introduced his French detective, Inspector Hanaud. His best-known book is The Four Feathers, which many consider to be his masterpiece, and which has been made into a number of films. Other works include The House of the Arrow, No Other Tiger, The Prisoner in the Opal and Fire Over England. He also contributed a short story, The Conjurer, to The Queen's Book of the Red Cross.