Few today recognize the achievements of William Henry Smith, who wrote many anonymous articles for the periodical press from 1828 to 1872, when his last piece appeared in the Contemporary Review. Although in his own time his name was before the public as the author of poetry, drama, and philosophical romances, it has, ironically, been his work for journals and magazines that has preserved his name for some slight attention from posterity. All published anonymously, Smith's short tales are marked by direct address to readers, interrupting the narrative to make ethical and religious points. The pleasures of reading Smith's fiction come from his experiments in narration, his mixing of dialogue with descriptive analysis, and his tonal shifts from world-weary sorrow to indignant outrage.

Despite his old-fashioned style Smith wrote some tales with the power to hold the modern reader's interest in character development and plot structures and at times made...