Publisher's Synopsis
I do not claim that it is encyclopædic in the sense that it will be found to supply a complete index to every inn mentioned in the novelist's books. Many a reader will recall, I expect, a certain inn in his favourite story which has been overlooked; but, while my chief aim has been to deal with the famous and prominent ones, I have not ignored the minor ones which, in many cases, are also the most alluring, and often play an important part in the story. The plan has been to take the long novels in something approximating to chronological order, followed by the shorter stories and sketches; and, where an inn is mentioned in more than one book, to deal with it fully in the chapter devoted to the story in which it was first alluded to. Inns associated with the novelist's own life find no place in this volume, unless they have association also with his books.
