Q despairs of spinning out the story of "his little nook" for a whole day, and realizes "that my love for this spot is built up of numberless trivialities, of small memories all incommunicable, or ridiculous when communicated; a scrap of local speech heard at this corner, a pleasant native face remembered in that doorway, a battered vessel dropping anchor," and the stories in the collection are the result. Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch wrote short stories, novels, and criticism -- and edited anthologies, including the "Oxford Book" series. He was Assistant Editor of the Liberal weekly The Speaker, and from 1912 until his death was Professor of English at Cambridge University. Writing under the pen name "Q", Quiller-Couch produced a variety of work, including adventure stories, historical fiction, satire, stories of the supernatural, and mysteries.

Author Biography

Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (1863 - 1944) was a Cornish writer who published using the pseudonym Q. Although a prolific novelist, he is remembered mainly for the monumental publication The Oxford Book Of English Verse 1250-1900 (later extended to 1918) and for his literary criticism. He influenced many who never met him, including American writer Helene Hanff, author of 84, Charing Cross Road and its sequel, Q's Legacy. His Oxford Book of English Verse was a favorite of John Mortimer's fictional character Horace Rumpole.