Nearly a century of British authorship from the inside is reflected in this anthology of extras from The Author. Since its foundation nearly 100 years ago as the monthly organ of the Society of Authors, this journal has come to occupy a unique place in the annals of 20th-century writing.
Richard Findlater describes the book as "a personal choice of personal voices," rather than a chronicle of issues and campaigns, though these are outlined in his introduction and form the background to his illustrious cast:
H.E. Bates, Arnold Bennett, Malcolm Bradbury, E.F. Forster, John Galsworthy, Rudyard Kipling, Rosamond Lehmann, Doris Lessing, Tom Stoppard, and Rebecca West, just to name a few.