The aim of this book has been to shed light on the life and personality of David Lindsay, and, for the first time, to study his work in its entirety, not only because a knowledge of the whole is often necessary for an understanding of each part, but also because several of David Lindsay's books, particularly The Haunted Woman, less well-known than A Voyage to Arcturus, are in no sense lacking in interest and qualities of their own, and will greatly reward wider study.

Attention has been drawn to the evolution of his thinking, from the total rejection of human values in A Voyage to Arcturus to the pitiable perfidy of The Haunted Woman, and then to a possible redemption in Devil's Tor and The Violet Apple. Finally, The Witch constitutes the spiritual testament, uniting the elements that have been spread at random throughout the earlier books. A Voyage to Arcturus had been written by a man of mature age, so it is not surprising to find that, since this first novel, the writing has scarcely changed at all.

It would be idle to pretend that this writer with whom we are concerned merits a place in the front rank of literature. Even though his work may not be entirely devoid of certain qualities, it nevertheless reveals obvious shortcomings which it is difficult to ignore without risking an allegation of bias.