The Delectable Duchy

A visiting journalist can describe a harbour in Cornwall after a few hours, but his host sees years of memories in its boats, doorways and churchyard trees. That difference in attention shapes the prologue to Arthur Quiller-Couch's collection of short stories. Cornwall emerges through local speech, harbour traffic and the small details that make a place familiar to its residents. The contents also range through railway scenes, family relationships and legends of St. Piran.

Humour sits beside more painful recollections. In one excerpt, an elderly widow draws her blind as a public procession approaches, prompting an ostler to recall her family's history. His account touches on pride, hardship and the needlework through which she supported her son. Readers interested in regional storytelling will find a mixture of conversation, folklore and remembered lives, with everyday gestures carrying meanings that a hurried visitor can easily miss.