When an idea gets hold of us in Troy, we puff at it, we blow it out and distend it to a globe, pausing and calling on one another to mark the prismatic tints, the fugitive images, symbols, meanings of the wide world glassed upon our pretty toy. We launch it. We follow it with our eyes as it floats from us—an irrecoverable delight. We watch until the microcosm goes pop! Then we laugh and blow another.
From The Mayor of Troy, Chapter III
view of the Fowey river

The Mayor of Troy was written in Fowey, the town on which Troy is based. It starts as a social satire, but the novel turns darker in its later stages. Q himself described it as a tragi-comedy.

In this section you will find a variety of resources relating to The Mayor of Troy. There is a chapter-by-chapter summary of the plot. You can also read short articles on links with other works by Q, profiles of the main characters and some additional notes on the text. Two topics are explored in more detail – the real-life Daniell Family and the short story ‘The Looe Die-Hards’, which has some interesting connections with the novel.

Two longer studies are associated with the novel. 'The Mayor of Troy: a study' looks at the historical context, including the experiences of prisoners of war. 'Thomas Bond and The Mayor of Troy' discusses a real individual on whom one of the characters is based.

You can read the novel yourself on the Internet Archive site or download the text from Project Gutenberg.