Sinister Street is a 1913-14 novel by Compton Mackenzie

Compton Mackenzie

Sir Compton Mackenzie, OBE was a writer and a Scottish nationalist.-Background:Compton Mackenzie was born in West Hartlepool, England, into a theatrical family of Mackenzies, but many of whose members used Compton as their stage surname, starting with his grandfather Henry Compton, a well-known...

. It is a kind of bildungsroman

Bildungsroman

In literary criticism, bildungsroman or coming-of-age story is a literary genre which focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood , and in which character change is thus extremely important...

 or novel about growing up, and concerns two children, Michael Fane and his sister Stella. Both of them are born out of wedlock, something which was frowned upon at the time, but from rich parents.

In the UK, the novel was published as two volumes, and in the USA these appeared as two separate books - Youth's Encounter (1913) and Sinister Street (1914)

Sequels

The book(s) had several sequels, which continue until Michael Fane's marriage. -

• 1917 - Plasher's Mead
• 1918 - The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett (made into the 1935 romantic comedy film Sylvia Scarlett
  Sylvia Scarlett
  Sylvia Scarlett is a 1935 romantic comedy film starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, based on The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett‎, a novel by Compton MacKenzie. Directed by George Cukor, it was notorious as one of the most famous unsuccessful movies of the 1930s...
  
  starring Katharine Hepburn
  Katharine Hepburn
  Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
  
   and Cary Grant
  Cary Grant
  Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
  
  )
• 1919 - Sylvia and Michael

Adaptations

The book was turned into a 1922 silent film Sinister Street

Sinister Street (film)

Sinister Street is a 1922 British silent drama film directed by George Beranger and starring John Stuart, Amy Verity and Maudie Dunham. It was adapted from the novel Sinister Street by Compton MacKenzie.-Cast:* John Stuart as Michael Fane...

directed by George Beranger

George Beranger

Georges Augustus Alexandre Roger de L'ile de Beranger , born George Augustus Beringer, was the seventh child of Adam Beringer and Caroline Mondientz. He was an Australian actor and film director. He played Shakespearean roles at the age of sixteen and left Australia in 1912 and began film work in...

. In 1969 it was adapted for a TV series Sinister Street by the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

.