Personal Reminiscences in Book Making, and Some Short Stories

The collection combines autobiographical reminiscences and brief fiction, recounting how the author became a maker of juvenile story-books, tracing early years spent in remote northern service with the Hudson’s Bay Company, long mail intervals, letter-writing to his mother, first awkward literary attempts, and the gathering of material amid canoeing, trading, and outpost life. It describes practical difficulties, humorous incidents, and the bookkeeping of bookmaking, and intersperses short stories and sketches—ranging from adventurous northern scenes to vignettes of urban life such as a chapter on nights with a fire brigade—offering candid reflections on craft, readership, and the sources of imaginative material.