Frank Collymore was at the centre of the West Indian literary renaissance of the forties and fifties. He was a master of the short story, bringing together a mordant wit and a sympathetic understanding of human failings to tackle subjects ranging from the eccentric to the psychotic. This collection includes 'Shadows', a sombre depiction of alienation, a satirical dissection of social climbing in 'RSVP to Mrs Bush-Hall', and in 'The Snag' a young boy's growing pains are written about with gentle irony.