This special anthology, published in 1885, is formed of seven stories, together with an introductory chapter setting up a framing narrative by Henry Norman, which is returned to at the end of each subsequent tale. This connecting narrative concerns a group of travelers on a transatlantic crossing. When their ship, the Bavaria suffers a ‘broken shaft’, they are forced to remain becalmed mid-ocean, telling stories to pass the time. - Summary by Ann Boulais