The Dream Lover William Boyd (Bloomsbury, £7.99)

This anthology of short stories is an amalgamation of two previous collections, On The Yankee Station and The Destiny of Nathalie X.

I thought I had read more or less everything Boyd has written, but when I checked my bookshelves I found another short story collection called Fascination, but not the above titles.

Boyd has written an informative introduction to The Dream Lover, which has a cover illustration reminiscent of his recent hit spy novel Restless.

But, despite appearances, this latest collection is not a triumph of marketing over content.

The stories are funny and moving and reveal how Boyd honed his writing skills before moving on to pen his acclaimed novels. One of the tales is set in Oxford, at St Giles' Fair.

Boyd reveals in his introduction that he wrote the first of his novels, A Good Man in Africa, only after securing a contract to complete it. In fact, he sent a synopsis to the publisher, pretending that he had already written the book. He was taken by surprise when it was accepted, and had to write it at top speed.

The former Oxford resident looks set to receive a warm welcome at the Oxford Literary Festival next month - particularly since he was forced to pull out of a previous appearance to promote Restless.

William Boyd is talking at Christ Church, Oxford, on Thursday, at 12.30pm.