SOURCE: "To 1950: The Wrong Set and Such Darling Dodos," in Angus Wilson: Mimic and Moralist, Seeker and Warburg, 1980, pp. 1-21.

In this excerpt from his book-length study of Wilson, Faulkner analyzes the stories in Wilson's first two collections of short stories, noting the author's developing style.

The title [of Wilson's first collection] The Wrong Set is a highly appropriate one for the whole volume, as well as for the [title] story, for Wilson's central concern is with characters who find themselves with wrong sets of relationships; can there be relationships, the volume asks, which allow and help all concerned to grow and develop, or are they necessarily props for some and prisons for others? The sombreness which underlies the wit comes from the fact that the answer suggested is negative.

Those who think they can helpfully reshape other people's lives are sharply criticised in the first story, "Fresh-Air...