Included in this edition are ten stories which were never collected into volumes during Hardy's lifetime. Some contain references to actual people, or plot elements that he reused elsewhere, and others, such as his stories for children, were simply too different from his other work in the short story form. Although all of these stories occupy significant positions within Hardy's career, none has previously received serious editorial treatment. For the most part they have been ignored, lightly passed over, or misinterpreted by critics and biographers. This edition remedies some of the deficiencies in Hardy scholarship, both in its historical introductions and in its critically edited texts, which are based on full collations of all editions published before Hardy's death and all surviving manuscripts, typescripts, and previously neglected proofs.