Francis Marion Crawford (August 2, 1854 - April 9, 1909) was an American writer noted for his many novels, especially those set in Italy, and for his classic weird and fantastic stories.H. Russell Wakefield, in an essay on ghost stories, called Crawford's "The Upper Berth" "the very best one" of such stories.Norman Douglas credits Crawford's financial success as instrumental in encouraging himself to write (though he remained critical of Crawford's habit of inserting first-person editorial comments into his fiction).There is a major street in the Italian town of Sant'Agnello di Sorrento (the town where he died) named after him, the Corso Marion Crawford. There is a historical marker on the house where Crawford was born, in Bagni di Lucca. Villa Crawford was donated many years ago by Crawford's daughters Lady Eleanor Rocca-Crawford and Mother Clare Marion-Crawford to the Salesian Sisters, who operate it today as a high school for girls.