It has been an honour and pleasure working with all of the contributors, who have made my task a simple one. Warren Chernaik was, in addition, an invaluable source of knowledge and encouragement as the idea for the volume began to germinate. My thanks to Edward Weiss for information on the 2006 ‘Celebration Evening’ in Beaconsfield marking the 400th anniversary of Waller’s birth, and for facilitating a memorable visit to Hall Barn, Waller’s home. I am also grateful to the anonymous reviewers of the manuscript of this book for making a number of helpful comments and suggestions, and to the Brill editorial and production teams for steering the volume through to production with customary skill and patience.