Scott wrote short stories throughout his career. Some are inset into novels but others were published separately in periodicals. This collection of eight pieces of shorter fiction from periodicals extends from a satirical piece appearing in 1811 in The Edinburgh Annual Register through stories from The Sale-Room and Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine to four stories published late in his life in The Keepsake. Only three of these stories were regularly reprinted. The other five are here made readily available for the first time, and show both Scott's versatility and his continuous exploration of the possibilities of fiction.