Two further early novels Love or Marriage (1868) and The Monarch of Mincing Lane (1871) did little to advance his career, and all three were omitted from the collected edition of Black's works issued by the publisher Sampson Low from 1892.

It tells of a young girl brought up in Catholic France, who comes to live with her more austere Protestant relatives in southern Scotland, and ends with personal tragedy.

During his lifetime, Black's novels were immensely popular and were compared favourably with those of Anthony Trollope, though some critics complained that they put too much emphasis on hunting and fishing.

He teamed with such well-known authors as Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy and Walter Besant to combat this procedure, resulting in the passing of new laws in 1891, but unlike the others, he held no grudge against those who sold unauthorised copies of his books while it was legal to do so, which made relations easier and friendlier between him and his American publishers.

[3] Baum's play was written without regard to copyright courtesy when such was legal: it is uncertain if Black was even aware of its existence, as Reid does not mention it in his biography.

Friendship with the actor Mary Anderson resulted in him acting on stage twice, in mute roles known as "thinkers" (in Romeo and Juliet and The Winter's Tale), but his nervousness interrupted the performance.

[1] Black is remembered by a lighthouse built in the form of a Gothic tower "on a spot that he knew and loved, by his friends and admirers from all over the world," as recorded on a carved plaque over the door.

A memorial to Black, in the form of a small castle, was built at Duart Point[5] designed by Glasgow architect William Leiper.