[The Maharajah and Other Stories] is a uniquely charming miscellany of the supernatural, the grotesque and the beautiful. White is preeminent among that distinguished little band of English writers for whom rural pursuits, the English countryside and children are a never-diminishing lode of curiosity and fantasy. This is seen to chilling effect in "The Spanish Earl," a captivating piece of grotesquerie about a noble boy in the reign of Charles II, who lived as a well-kept dog. Although an inevitable sameness is to be found in the collection, White's superb storytelling is an invitation to join him at the fireside for some old-fashioned but satisfying storytelling.