Francis Hopkinson Smith's melodramatic novel Felix O'Day was published posthumously in 1915. It deals with and mismatched marriages, love, and betrayal in New York life. The immature wife of an Irishman, Felix, has left him for a rich young man. Finding out that the young man she has run off with is a felon, Felix decides to find her and help her, whether she accepts his help or not.

An American author, story-teller, illustrator, and engineer, Francis Hopkinson Smith (1838Ð1915) was the descendant of Francis Hopkinson, a signatory to the Declaration of Independence. The foundation of the Statue of Liberty is amongst his greatest achievements as an engineer. Earning fame as an illustrator and painter, he started his literary career in his fifties and published the famous series of Colonel Carter novels.