Publisher's Synopsis
Dealing mainly with the mysterious and the inexplicable, these stories lead the reader through the weird, uncharted borderland swayed by the psychic supernatural or invisible powers. Mystery, romance, and adventure abound in them. Contrasting with tales of this type are realistic tales of both the past and the present. Both kinds of stories will appeal to those of discriminating literary taste. Many of these stories on their first appearance in the magazines were hailed as works of rare originality and imaginative power. One critic going so far as to say that the story entitled, "The Lemnian" is the best short story in the English Language.John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, was a British novelist and Unionist politician who, between 1935 and 1940, served as the Governor General of Canada. He was born and primarily educated in Scotland, and further schooled in England, obtaining a degree in Literae Humaniores, and befriending a number of influential future writers while studying at the University of Oxford. After a brief career in law, Buchan began writing and his political and diplomatic career, serving as a private secretary to the colonial administrator of various colonies in South Africa, and eventually wrote propaganda for the British war effort following the outbreak of the First World War. Once back in civilian life, Buchan was elected the Member of Parliament for the Combined Scottish Universities, but spent most of his time on his writing career. He is the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps and other adventure fiction.