GERALD KERSH (1911–68) was a prolific story-teller, who wrote long stories, short stories, dramatic stories, bizarre stories, scientific stories, supernatural stories, historical stories, and Biblical stories. His subjects covered almost every type of person you could imagine meeting: wrestlers and boxers, drunks and gamblers, poets and artists, vagabonds and kings, soldiers and reporters, freaks and geeks; and in the course of a writing career which spanned more than thirty years, ending with his death in 1968, he produced more than four hundred stories, none of which have been in print for almost forty years.

For this first volume in Ash-Tree Press's series of The Fantastical Writings, editor Paul Duncan has selected twenty-five of Kersh's stories for your enjoyment and entertainment. Two of the stories are collected here for the first time.

So, settle back and enter the world of Gerald Kersh, where you will encounter the strong, long-living Corporal Cuckoo; the being who became known as 'The Brighton Monster'; the sad tale of Lalouette, the 'Queen of Pig Island'; the story of the final days of Ambrose Bierce; the madness of Dr Pelikan, who warns of the impending death of his colleague Dr Ox; and many, many more.