Old Fires and Profitable Ghosts

Summary

Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch wrote short stories, novels,criticism, and edited anthologies, including the "Oxford Book"series. He was Assistant Editor of the Liberal weekly "TheSpeaker," and from 1912 until his death was Professor of English atCambridge University. Writing under the pen name "Q," Sir Arthurproduced a variety of work, including adventure stories, historicalfiction, satire, stories of the supernatural, and mysteries. "OldFires and Profitable Ghosts" is a collection of stories aboutrevenants: people who in spirit or body revisit old scenes, returnto old bodies, or give a message from beyond. They have a varietyof inspirations, including a sketch by Hawthorne, real lifeexperiences of two St. Ives men in the early 1800s, history, andfact. "Once Aboard the Lugger" is itself a revenant, being an earlyform of a tale later rewritten as "Ia." These stories showcase Q'sability with the supernatural.