The anthology is compiled by Charles C. Mish, a leading authority on English seventeenth-century fiction, and contains ten pieces published between 1609 and 1700. In addition to a beast fable, an anti-romance, and a utopian fantasy, Mr. Mish includes and comments on: a moral tale, in which just retribution is visited upon the wicked; a "jest-biography," or jest-book cum biography forming a satirical roman a clef ; and a frame story imitating Chaucer's Canterbury Tales .