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An essayistic survey in which the author revisits roughly forty canonical prose works, choosing one representative story from each and reading them in rapid succession to form a comparative perspective. He explains selection criteria—excluding living authors and verse fiction—arranges entries chronologically, and gives concise critical sketches that summarize plots, note thematic features and stylistic qualities, and weigh merits and faults. Prefatory remarks outline the method and purpose, while each chapter offers a compact appreciation intended to show how time affects initial impressions.
If our views of contemporary fiction were ripe enough for final judgment, I would much like to continue this excursion down to the present date, and compare the foregoing works with some of the novels written by authors who are now living. My conviction is that fiction has not deteriorated, and that there has been no time in the past when the standard was higher than it is to-day.