Most of the stories are set in Gwyn Thomas’s native South Wales Valleys during the Depression of the 1920s and 30s. The conditions then - massive unemployment, poverty, emigration, loss of self-esteem - are the basis of Thomas’s art. The result is not a grey or embittered writing; a highly developed sense of irony couches Thomas’s indignation at social injustice and economic decline in a whirl of comic invention. He portrays a comradely, egalitarian community exploring itself in cramped houses, Italian cafes, pubs, Workingmen’s Instituates and back lanes. Selected Short Stories shows that Thomas’s vision of South Wales remains unsurpassed in humour and compassion. This edition is introduced by his biographer, Michael Parnell.