Essential Stories, Paperback

Introduction by JEREMY TREGLOWN

"In his daily walks through London," notes Jeremy Treglown in his Introduction to this collection, "Pritchett watched and listened to people as a naturalist observes wild creatures and birds. He knew that oddity is the norm, not the exception." This finely attuned sense, coupled with an understanding that nothing in life is mundane, is what makes these stories so immensely enjoyable. Drawing on a vast treasure chest of writings, Treglown has selected sixteen of Pritchett's gems, including "A Serious Question," which makes its debut in book form here. Featuring some of the best work from a long career, this new compilation of Pritchett's brilliantly compact stories illuminates his legendary skills.

Jeremy Treglown is the author of V. S. Pritchett: A Working Life; Roald Dahl: A Biography; and Romancing: The Life and Work of Henry Green, which won the Dictionary of Literary Biography Award. Now a professor of English at the University of Warwick, he was editor of The Times Literary Supplement from 1982 to 1990. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.