Marvin Mudrick, whom James Wolcott of Vanity Fair called "a one-man commando squad and independent operator, . . . ferocious, funny, and fearlessly honest," introduces us to some of Anthony Trollope's most successful and intriguing short stories. Mudrick emphasizes the importance of women in Trollope's stories and novels, writing that what "distinguishes the short stories is an interest in the power of women so persistent and concentrated that sometimes it almost amounts to the whole story." The collection includes Christmas at Thompson Hall, Christmas Day at Kirkby Cottage, The Mistletoe Bough, The Widow's Mite, The Two Generals, Two Heroines of Plumplington, John Bull on the Guadalquivir, and The Panjandrum.