Francis Henry Gribble (1862 - 1946) was an English writer who spent much of his life travelling in Europe, which provided the setting for many of his novels and stories.

The Secret of the Schwarztal is a mystery story. An English traveller had gone missing in the remote valley of Schwarztal in the Alps and was presumed dead. But three years later his brother arrived determined to solve the mystery of what happened to his brother - and what he discovered was very deeply disturbing.