- In his foreword to the text, Bradley Pearson begins by explaining that although many years have passed since the novel's events occurred, he's made a conscious literary decision to tell his story in the present tense, recreating—so far as possible—the state of mind and limited perceptions that he experienced at the time.
- Bradley goes on to provide descriptions of his physical attributes and his modest achievements as a writer. His comments about his literary career soon morph into a philosophical discussion of the nature of literary creation itself.
- Bradley goes on to describe his middle-class childhood, and then he sketches the basic details of his life, leading up to the events that the novel describes.
- Bradley puts special emphasis on his retirement from the tax office where he worked throughout most of his adult life. He describes the writer's block that followed.
- Because he was having such trouble, Bradley explains, he decided to rent a cottage by the sea for the summer, where he could work in silence and solitude and create the literary masterpiece that he felt was on its way.
- Bradley draws his foreword to a close by acknowledging its shortcomings and, in particular, its failure to present a complete and accurate portrait of his character.
- Finally, after making a few more general comments on the nature of life, art, politics, and freedom, Bradley ends with a dedication to his editor and "dear friend," P. Loxias.