These stories were written by Dickens from the beginning of his career (published before The Pickwick Papers) to just about the end (right before Edwin Drood). As might be expected from stories that did not make it into any larger work or collection, it is a mixed bag. Of particular note: The Lamplighter is an amusing farce about the profession of lamplighters. Hunted Down is a compelling, enjoyable sensationalist piece about the capture of a villainous murderer. The Trial for Murder is a co-written short ghost story about a murder trial that is haunting, so to speak. Captain Murderer is a short, amusing violent fairy tale and the Loving Ballad of Lord Batemen is a whimsical mock scholarly annotation of a traditional ballad illustrated by George Cruikshank. I did not particularly care for Holiday Romance (which follows a fictional device of being four stories written by children) or George Silverman's Explanation. ( )

These stories were written by Dickens from the beginning of his career (published before The Pickwick Papers) to just about the end (right before Edwin Drood). As might be expected from stories that did not make it into any larger work or collection, it is a mixed bag. Of particular note: The Lamplighter is an amusing farce about the profession of lamplighters. Hunted Down is a compelling, enjoyable sensationalist piece about the capture of a villainous murderer. The Trial for Murder is a co-written short ghost story about a murder trial that is haunting, so to speak. Captain Murderer is a short, amusing violent fairy tale and the Loving Ballad of Lord Batemen is a whimsical mock scholarly annotation of a traditional ballad illustrated by George Cruikshank. I did not particularly care for Holiday Romance (which follows a fictional device of being four stories written by children) or George Silverman's Explanation. ( )