In Search of the Unknown

A fixup novel, it consists of humorous light fantasies with strong science fictional elements. The stories feature the narrator, a man who searches for lost species of animals, and his journeys to find these animals. The creatures include among others a half-man, half-amphibian called "the harbor-master". The narrator falls in love in most of the stories, unfortunately with women who are always whisked away at the last moment. In Search of the Unknown (1904) and Police!!! (1915): "The Lost Species sequence – [these two collections of linked stories] – features the adventures of a philandering zoologist in his search for unknown beasts ..." --SFE3: Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997), biog. entry by Mike Ashley