A collection of 13 stories written by Dame Daphne du Maurier before she was 23 years old, The Doll is a valuable part of the author's body of work. It is comprised of eight stories that were published in a small UK volume called Early Stories that is now out of print and five stories that were published in periodicals during the early 1930s, and explores the evolution of the images, themes, and concerns that informed du Maurier's later work - particularly romance gone awry. It includes stories like 'And Now To God the Father' in which a vicar coaches a young couple divided by class issues, 'Tame Cat' in which an older man falls in love with a much younger woman, and 'And His Letters Grew Colder' a short story told in letters that follows the progression of a relationship through the love letters they send to one another - each story in the collection highlights du Maurier's deep understanding of human nature.