Covering the period from the 1930s to the 1940s, this collection contains stories by a wide range of writers of international reputation and importance, including Elizabeth Bowen, Joyce Cary, Walter de la Mare, Graham Greene, L.P. Hartley, Somerset Maugham, Frank O'Connor, V.S. Pritchett, William Sansom, Dylan Thomas, Evelyn Waugh, and Angus Wilson.