V. S. Pritchett (1900-1997) was one of the most subtle, potent and best-loved of modern British writers, an unparalleled story-teller and a biographer and essayist of unique humour and perception. This engrossing and lively volume, edited by his son, is a tribute to a lifetime of writing. He looks back to his childhood and youth in extracts from his autobiographies A CAB AT THE DOOR and MIDNIGHT OIL. His vivid travel writings take us from the Appalachians and Amazonia to Ireland and the South of Spain. He writes with great insight about the lives of authors he loves- Chekov, Turgenev, Balzac, and his witty and sensitive criticism illuminates writers both classic and contemporary, from Scott, Kipling and George Eliot, to Saul Bellow and Salamn Rushdie. Finally the volume contains extracts from his novels and the very best of the superb short stories.