Stories of W.W. Jacobs: An Index to All Volumes and Stories — Reading Notes

A Systematic Catalogue

The index is not merely a list but a carefully structured finding aid. David Widger, the editor, has arranged the stories first by volume and then in a single alphabetical sequence. This dual arrangement allows a reader to locate a story quickly by title while also seeing which volume it belongs to. The volume titles themselves—Deep Waters, Night Watches, Short Cruises—suggest a consistent maritime setting, but the story titles reveal a wider range: “The Changing Numbers,” “Family Cares,” and “In the Library” point to domestic and social comedy. The index thus serves as a map of Jacobs’s fictional world, where the sea is never far away but where the action often takes place ashore.

Recurring Patterns in the Titles

Several patterns emerge from the alphabetical list. Many titles use the definite article (“The Monkey’s Paw,” “The Toll-House,” “The Lady of the Barge”), suggesting a focus on a single object or character. Others are prepositional phrases (“At Sunwich Port,” “Over the Side,” “Back to Back”), implying movement or location. A notable number are compound or hyphenated: “Love-Knot,” “Money-Box,” “Watch-Dog.” These compact titles often hint at a central prop or relationship. The frequency of nautical terms—boatswain, skipper, cargoes, craft—confirms the maritime flavor, but titles like “The Grey Parrot,” “The Tiger’s Skin,” and “The Resurrection of Mr. Wiggett” suggest that Jacobs also wrote about the exotic and the supernatural.

Editorial Choices and the Reader’s Path

David Widger’s editorial work is unobtrusive but essential. He provides no annotations, introductions, or summaries—only the raw index. This restraint forces the reader to engage directly with Jacobs’s titles and volume names. The index does not indicate which stories are most famous or which volumes are most representative; it treats all entries equally. For a reader new to Jacobs, the sheer number of stories (over 150) can be daunting, but the alphabetical listing offers a neutral starting point. One might begin with a familiar title like “The Monkey’s Paw” and then explore nearby entries such as “Money-Box” or “More Cargoes.” The index thus becomes a tool for serendipitous discovery, not a guided tour.

Because the index contains no plot summaries or thematic analysis, readers must rely on the titles alone to gauge their interest. This makes the index a pure reference work, best used alongside the stories themselves. For those studying Jacobs’s narrative voice and changes in pace, the index provides a quick way to locate stories that may contrast in tone—for instance, the eerie “The Monkey’s Paw” versus the comic “Bill’s Lapse.” The editor’s systematic arrangement rewards browsing and comparison.

I spent the evening with Widger’s careful index to Jacobs, those tidy rows of nautical and domestic tales, and felt oddly comforted by their quiet constancy. It made me think of another shelf companion, the Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Sir Winston Spencer Churchill — Story, Setting & Ideas, where history’s breadth sits similarly catalogued. Both feel like keeping old letters, their order a soft, familiar pulse.