He was my reply to some earlier suggestion that I should write of my journeys after big game and, being still reluctant to do this, I had invented a drunken old man who, whenever he could cadge a drink at a club, told tales of his travels.
[5] Over the following 32 years, Dunsany continued to write of Mr. Jorkens, and the stories were popular and sold well, mostly initially to magazines (many enjoying wide circulation, from the Atlantic Monthly, Saturday Evening Post and Vanity Fair to the Pall Mall Gazette, The Strand and The Spectator) and newspapers (including The Daily Mail and The Irish Independent), and also in their collected book form.
Some of the stories were read on radio,[6] and they were popular enough that for at least one announcement of a new book, an introductory piece by Lord Dunsany was included in the publisher's house magazine.
[8] The stories often contain a "sting", with Jorkens appearing to do something remarkable, or get rich, but missing out in the end, but in their lightness often also touch on bigger themes.
The format has proven endlessly adaptable, with notable instances to be found in the science fiction (Clarke and Robinson) and mystery (Asimov) genres as well as fantasy.
Jorkens was pictured a number of times, both in magazine and newspaper graphics as well as inside the collected volumes and on dust jackets; these depictions varying considerably.