Louisa Baldwin (1845-1925) was a British author of popular Victorian ghost stories. She spent much of her adult life as a bedridden invalid. Her hatred of idleness, combined with her imagination, led her to write. Her son was Stanley Baldwin, who became the British prime minister.

'The Ticking of the Clock' is a touching tale of a grandfather and his little grandson, Peter, on whom he dotes. Peter wants to know why his grandfather is so old and infirm. His grandfather's attempts to explain about aging are hard for the boy to understand, but at last he grasps that it is to do with the ticking of the clock. So Peter sets out to stop the clock and help his grandfather to regain his youth and vitality....