Old Fires and Profitable Ghosts

Old feelings and familiar places return in unexpected forms throughout Arthur Quiller-Couch's collection of short stories. His preface links the tales through people who revisit earlier scenes, recover former emotions, or carry messages from beyond ordinary perception. The opening story, "Oceanus," begins with a letter to Violet from a narrator struggling with the death of their brother Harry. Memories of childhood and walks beside the sea lead into troubled reflections on grief, faith, and the apparent cruelty of the natural world.

The collection also makes room for historical adventure. Quiller-Couch identifies "Prisoners of War" as drawing on the experiences of two men from St. Ives between 1804 and 1814. A later excerpt follows hungry travellers sheltering in snow and attempting to secure Margit's release through a hostage exchange. Readers interested in ghost stories with emotional weight can find here a varied treatment of memory, danger, and the persistence of the past.