In England, the first decade of the twentieth century represented a time of unique social contradiction. On the one hand, society was moving into the accelerating age of technology, while on the other, it was attempting to hold on to the values of the nineteenth century.
This period of contradiction is reflected in the fiction of the time, and the Edwardian Fiction collection is impressive in that it goes beyond the acknowledged masters of the period–such figures as Wells, Chesterton, Galsworthy, and Forster–and includes a substantial body of fiction which is less famous. This collection is important as an accurate gauge of what the public was reading at the time.