The anthology is compiled by Charles C. Mish a leading authority on English seventeenth-century fiction and contains ten pieces published between 1609 and 1700. In addition to a beast fable an anti-romance and a utopian fantasy Mr. Mish includes and comments on: a moral tale in which just retribution is visited upon the wicked; a jest-biography or jest-book cum biography forming a satirical roman a clef; and a frame story imitating Chaucer''s Canterbury Tales.