Anthologies & Short Stories

Book SynopsisCollected by Yoruba poet Bakare Gbadamosi and scholar Ulli Beier, Not Even God Is Ripe Enough is a mesmerising collection of traditional oral stories and lighthearted Yoruba fables. Including stories such as 'Kindness won't kill you but it can give you a lot of worries', 'He who shits on the road will meet flies on his return' and 'You can fool others but can you fool yourself?' Not Even God is Ripe Enough is a wide-ranging selection of amusing Yoruba proverbs and tales of magical realism. From bizarre stories of talking animals to wise parables passed down from generation to generation, these stories are full of surprising twists, humour, and the surreal.

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Book SynopsisDiscover the intriguing mythology behind the planets and Zodiac signs that rule Western astrology, and learn how to channel the energy of each star sign to live your best life.Have you ever wondered why the Zodiac signs are associated with certain animals? Or how a crab (Cancer) came to rule a part of the sky? Or, for that matter, what it means to have Taurus, the stubborn bull, as your star sign?Whether you’re a fiery Aries, a mysterious Scorpio, or a sassy Sagittarius, you can discover the fascinating, sometimes forgotten, and often wild Greek and Roman mythology that gave rise to the star signs and planet names, while learning the stories behind:Aries, the ram; Taurus, the bull; Gemini, the twins; Cancer, the crab; Leo, the lion; Virgo, the maiden; Libra, the scales; Scorpio, the scorpion; Sagittarius, the archer; Capricorn, the goat; Aquarius, the cup bearer;&

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Book Synopsis*Missives from the Masses *opens award-winning author Su Tong's newest selection of short stories. From Qianmei, the only one in the dark about her terminal cancer, to the unloved undertaker with seemingly cursed hands, this collection presents darkly humorous and strange accounts of hidden lives eked out during China's turbulent economic rise.

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Book SynopsisThe Birthright of Sons is a collection of stories centered around the experiences of marginalized people, namely Black and LGBTQ+ men. Though the stories borrow elements from various genres (horror, suspense, romance, magical realism, etc.), they're linked by an exploration of identity and the ways personhood is shaped through interactions with the people, places, and belief systems around us. Underpinning the project is a core belief – self-definition is fluid, but conflict arises because society often fails to keep pace with personal evolution. In each of these stories, the protagonists grapple with their understanding of who they are, who and how they love, and what's ultimately most important to them. In almost every case, however, the quest to know or protect oneself is challenged by an external force, resulting in violence, crisis, or confusion, among other outcomes.The Birthright of Sons colors in "the other" as three-dimensional, by highlighting the unique obstacles that marginalized people face while simultaneously centering their humanity and unearthing universal struggles and commonalities. Be it experiencing a sexual awakening, contemplating the cumulative effects of racial tension in the workplace, or searching desperately for a moment of peace in the attention economy, the collection amplifies underrepresented voices in a playful and contemporary way, elevating, critiquing, and confronting its characters.Through a mix of heart, dark humor, and social observation, The Birthright of Sons ponders the power of difference in a world defined by rigid definitions, ideological silos, and an unwillingness to change.

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Book SynopsisThe great songs and folktales of the English, Irish, and Scottish tradition reimagined in comic book form by some of the most famous fantasy and science fiction authors of the 20th century, including Neil Gaiman (Sandman), Charles de Lint (Widdershins, The Onion Girl), Jane Yolen (Lost Girls, Briar Rose), Sharyn McCrumb (The Ballad of Frankie Silver), Jeff Smith (Bone), and more.Trade Review"A delightful volume for anyone interested in either fantasy, fairy tales, or classical literature." - Chico Comics Page "f you’re a fan of fairy tales and folklore in general, this is a must have" - Comics Beat

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Book SynopsisDirect from the Diablo development team and horror's preeminent minds comes Tales from the Horadric Library, a short story collection exploring the deepest, darkest corners of Sanctuary. While the Eternal Conflict rages forever on, horror and superstition of a purely Sanctuary variety still prey on the hearts of its people. The Horadric Order has been tasked with recording any knowledge that could prove useful, whether it's a local legend, a cautionary tale, or a story of the darkest horror. Now, the vaults are open. Direct from the Diablo development team and horror's preeminent minds comes Tales from the Horadric Library, a short story collection exploring the deepest, darkest corners of Sanctuary.

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Book SynopsisTeam JNPR stars in this short story collection based on Rooster Teeth's hit animation series!The world of Remnant is filled with horrific monsters bent on the destruction of humanity. Fortunately, the kingdoms of the world have risen to combat these forces by training powerful Huntsmen and Huntresses at academies around the planet. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long are four such Huntresses in training.New short stories featuring Team JNPR! Team RWBY is not the only group of Hunters and Huntresses in the world of Remnant! Get to know Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos and Lie Ren, one of the strongest—and most fun—teams of Grimm Hunters in the hit series RWBY! From a team of exciting new manga artists comes the fifth volume in a series of short story collections, this time showcasing Team JNPR!

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Book SynopsisIt is estimated that some three million people died in the Soviet forced-labour camps of Kolyma, in the northeastern area of Siberia. Shalamov himself spent seventeen years there, and in these stories he vividly captures the lives of ordinary people caught up in terrible circumstances, whose hopes and plans extended to further than a few hours This new enlarged edition combines two collections previously published in the United States as Kolyma Tales and Graphite.Table of ContentsForewordThrough the SnowOn TickIn the NightCarpentersAn Individual AssignmentA 'Pushover' JobDry RationsThe InjectorThe Apostle PaulBerriesTamara the BitchCherry BrandyA Child's DrawingsCondensed MilkThe Snake CharmerThe Golden TaigaVaska Denisov, Kidnapper of PigsA Day OffDominoesShock TherapyThe Lawyers' PlotTyphoid QuarantineThe Procurator of JudeaThe LepersDescendant of a DecembristCommittees for the PoorMagicA Piece of MeatEsperantoMajor Pugachov's Last BattleThe Used-Book DealerLend-LeaseSententiousThe SeizureAn EpitaphHandwritingThe BusinessmanCaptain Tolly's LoveIn the BathhouseThe Green ProcuratorMy First ToothProsthetic AppliancesThe TrainThe Red CrossWomen in the Criminal WorldQuietGrishka Logun's ThermometerChief of Political ControlThe Life of Engineer KipreevMister Popp's VisitThe TheftThe LetterFire and WaterGraphite

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Book SynopsisThe ten stories collected in this volume demonstrate Tolstoy's artistic prowess displayed over five decades - experimenting with prose styles and drawing on his own experiences with humour, realism and compassion. Inspired by his experiences in the army, 'The Two Hussars' contrasts a dashing father and his mean-spirited son. Illustrating Tolstoy's belief that art must serve a moral purpose, 'What Men Live By' portrays an angel sent to earth to learn three existential rules of life, and 'Two Old Men' shows a peasant abandoning his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in order to help his neighbours. And in the highly moving 'Master and Man', Tolstoy depicts a mercenary merchant travelling with his unprotesting servant through a blizzard to close a business deal - little realizing he may soon have to settle accounts with his maker.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Cl

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Book SynopsisThere's more to being a wolf than howling at the moon! This Gothic Fantasy volume blends modern werewolf tales with medieval folklore and mythology. Explore Old English origins, Norse legends like Fenrir at Ragnarök, and Slavic myths of stolen wolf-skins. A stunning new book with tales of humans, wolves, power, identity, horror, and romance.

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Book SynopsisThe first complete collection of Vonnegut's 97 short stories, including 5 which have never been published before.

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Book SynopsisBiblioasis is thrilled to continue this series of beautifully illustrated, collectible, classic Christmas ghost stories designed and illustrated by world-famous cartoonist Seth.In How Fear Departed the Long Gallery, for the Peverils, the appearance of a ghost is no more upsetting than the appearance of the mailman at an ordinary house. Except for the twin toddlers in the Long Gallery. No one would dare be caught in the Long Gallery after dark. But on this quiet and cloudy afternoon, Madge Peveril is feeling rather drowsy . . .E. F. Benson was the English writer of the Mapp and Lucia series.

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Book SynopsisTroll Bridge, a tale from the mind of Sunday Times bestselling writer Neil Gaiman, has been beautifully adapted for the first time by Eisner Award-winning writer/artist Colleen Doran. This striking graphic novel will delight fans of Alan Moore, Dave McKean and beyond. Young Jack''s world is full of ghosts and ghouls, but one monster - a ravenous and hideous troll - haunts him long into manhood. As the beast sups upon a lifetime of Jack''s fear and regret, Jack must find the courage within himself to face the fiend once and for all.Trade ReviewA rich imagination...and an ability to tackle large themesA quirky delightFunny, scary and perverse by turns - Time Out on SMOKE AND MIRRORS

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Book SynopsisEdgar Allan Poe remains the unsurpassed master of works of mystery and madness in this outstanding collection of Poe's prose and poetry are sixteen of his finest tales, including 'The Tell-Tale Heart', 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' 'The Pit and the Pendulum,' 'William Wilson,' 'The Black Cat,' 'The Cask of Amontillado,' and 'Eleonora'. Here too is a major selection of what Poe characterized as the passion of his life, his poems - 'The Raven,' 'Annabel Lee,' Ulalume,' 'Lenore,' 'The Bells,' and more, plus his glorious prose poem 'Silence - A Fable' and only full-length novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of When I Hit You, shortlisted for the 2018 Women's Prize for FictionKarim and Maya:[x] share a home [x] worry about money [x] binge-watch films [x] argue all the time Karim, a young film-maker, carries with him the starry-eyed dreams of the Arab Revolution. Maya carries her own pressing concerns: an errant father, an unstable job, a chain-smoking habit, a sudden pregnancy. When Karim's brother disappears in Tunis, and Karim wants to go after him, Maya must choose between her partner and her home city, her future and her history...In a conversation between forms, fictions and truths, Exquisite Cadavers is a novel about a young couple navigating love in London, and a literary hall of mirrors about an author navigating the inspirations behind her work.___________________'An inventive fusion' Observer'A work of brilliance' Financial Times'Wonderful' LitHubTrade ReviewThank god for writing like this. For books like this. For this level of experimentation, combined with such control, such tenderness and wit. * Max Porter, author of Lanny *Exquisite Cadavers' experiment delivers a book that is slyly funny and profoundly thoughtful. It is common for critics and readers to belittle women by assuming they write out of catharsis rather than to create. Exquisite Cadavers is not just a fierce rebuttal. It's a work of brilliance. * Financial Times *An inventive fusion of fact and fiction. * Observer *Fascinating... The cleverness of Kandasamy's bricolage is that it allows her to explicitly separate fiction and memoir, while ensuring they're intimately intertwined. * Guardian *A smart, complex book. * Guardian *The key question about Exquisite Cadavers, however, is does all of this work? That is the hardest question to answer, because the terms are that it should be an experiment - there has never been a book quite like this. Better to ask, then, whether it surprises, grips, makes the reader take notice - all those things literature is supposed to do - to which the answer is, easily, yes, yes, and yes again. * The Irish Times *It's wonderful, a different view of difference. * LitHub *Kandasamy achieves the unachievable in this genre-defying, brilliant and satisfying double narrative. She subverts the mainstream by inserting her self into the margins of this timely novella. In doing so, she adds depth and intensity to an already gripping story of a mixed-race millennial couple grappling with identity, unexpected parenthood, zero-hour contracts and nearsightedness within academia. There is nothing Kandasamy can't do. * Zeba Talkhani, author of My Past is A Foreign Country *A rich and absorbing text full of allusion... Kandasamy's work becomes more bold and exciting with each new book. * The Skinny *Absorbing and innovative * The Herald *An extraordinary formally-inventive, beautiful at sentence-level novella. * Belfast Telegraph *This is hands-down the most emotionally resonant book I have read this year. In this fragmented literary experiment, Kandasamy flawlessly combines the political and the personal with her searing insight and dazzling literary prowess. * Book Riot *Wildly inventive and inimitable * Mint *A tightly packed experiment in literary fiction, toggling between life and art, the margin and the centre, stories and meta-stories * Open The Magazine *Astute metafictional observations * New Statesman *Defies all expectations of how prose should be laid out on the page. While it is ostensibly about a relationship, it also comments in the margins on Indian politics and the writer's own creative process. * Bernardine Evaristo, TLS *Both an excellent exercise in form and a deeply evocative love story. * Publisher's Weekly *Sharply observed, beautiful, smart writing. This book is an engagement with art and life on their own terms, demanding its readers level up their thinking * Booklist *The two-column format of the book presents questions about how we read, what story is, and what a novel can be. The lives of Maya and Karim, a young, London-based couple, are rendered in prose that is both poetic and ironic, while the voice of the author-character, sitting side-by-side, is at once philosophical and grimly witty. * Novuyo Tshuma, The Millions *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF ENGLISH PEN AWARD 2023 LONG-LISTED FOR THE REPUBLIC OF CONSCIOUSNESS PRIZE 2024 ‘How did these stories get into your hands? They flew, as if painted by Marc Chagall, through prison walls, borders, and languages.’ - Valzhyna Mort ‘It’s a terse account of painful experience, prison, bewilderment; hugely atmospheric and extremely funny – full of dry wit and small biting observations.’ - Anna Vaught 100 stories written from prison in Belarus with 'echoes of early Chekhov, Zoshchenko and Samuel Beckett' (Michael Purs). Despite its bleak context, this is a fundamentally optimistic book, engaging comically, yet honestly, with what it means to be human. Translated from the Russian by Jim and Ella Dingley. With an introduction by ‘risen star of the international poetry world’ Valzhyna Mort.Trade ReviewMaxim Znak's message is that wry humour and humanity trump the cruel absurdities of the regime [...] These stories, one hundred of them, none longer than three pages, have echoes of early Chekhov, Zoshchenko and Samuel Beckett and, ultimately, of Giovanni Boccaccio and Vernon Kress, who used the punning title for his 1991 novel of the Gulag. - Michael Purs The fact that this book exists at all should be a miracle. Simply because the stories were smuggled out … The true sensation, however, is the mental achievement the prisoner Maxim Znak was capable of: that in his situation, which could really be called hopeless, he still possesses the internal freedom to create literature. - Cornelia Geissler, Berliner Zeitung [Znak] uses the weapons that dictators like Lukashenko detest most: humour, wit, publicity. - Jens Uthoff, taz.die tageszeitung It's a terse account of painful experience, prison, bewilderment; hugely atmospheric and extremely funny – full of dry wit and small biting observations. - Anna Vaught

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Book SynopsisWhat if the course of history had been changed by a different decision, a different victor, a different invention? Utopian stories and alternative history stories by H.G. Wells, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Castello Holford and others are combined here with new stories by new writers from open submissions, exploring the variety and delight of alternative history to reimagine the world around us: What if the Ancient Egyptians had conquered Rome? What if World War II had been won by the loser, not the victors? What if women had ruled the world for 4000 years not men? New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Essa Bah, Rebecca Buchanan, Monica Butler, Jay Caselberg, Jonathan Davidson, Evan A. Davis, C.R. Hobson, Vylar Kaftan, Richard Kigel, Andrea Kriz, Adam Lawson, Kwame M.A. McPherson, Eve Morton, Chiamaka Muoneke, Maureen O'Leary, Jennifer R. Povey, Guy Prevost, Matias F. Travieso-Diaz, Rebecca E. Treasure, DJ Tyrer, Iris Whelan, Cameron Wise-Maas, Alex Woodroe, James Young, and Elizabeth Zuckerman. These appear alongside classic stories by authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Castello Holford, H.G. Wells, and John Wyndham. The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

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Book SynopsisTwelve chilling and thrilling stories from the darkest stars of modern horror including Josh Malerman, Caroline Kepnes, Stephen Graham Jones, Ramsay Campbell and more... Created as an homage to the 1980 classic horror anthology, Dark Forces, this collection contains 12 original novelettes showcasing today's top horror talent edited by John F.D. Taff. Within these pages you'll find tales of dead men walking, an insidious secret summer fling, an island harbouring unspeakable power, and a dark hallway that beckons. You'll encounter terrible monsters-both human and supernatural-and be forever changed. These stories run the gamut from traditional to modern, from dark fantasy to neo-noir, from explorations of beloved horror tropes to the unknown-possibly unknowable-threats. ALL-NEW TERRIFYING TALES FROM: CHESYA BURKE RAMSEY CAMPBELL GEMMA FILES STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES ALMA KATSU CAROLINE KEPNES JOHN LANGAN LIVIA LLEWELLYN JOSH MALERMAN USMAN T. MALIK PRIYA SHARMA JOHN F.D. TAFF

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Book Synopsis*Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2021**From Daniel Mason, the bestselling, award-winning author of The Winter Soldier and The Piano Tuner comes a collection of interlacing tales of men and women as they face the mysteries and magic of the world.On a fated flight, a balloonist makes a discovery that changes her life forever. A telegraph operator finds an unexpected companion in the middle of the Amazon. A doctor is beset by seizures, in which he is possessed by a second, perhaps better, version of himself. And in Regency London, a bare-knuckle fighter prepares to face his most fearsome opponent, while a young mother seeks a miraculous cure for her ailing son. At times funny and irreverent, always moving, these stories cap a fifteen-year project that has won both a National Magazine Award and Pushcart Prize. From the Nile’s depths to the highest reaches of the atmosphere, from volcano-wracked islands to an asylum on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, these are lives of ecstasy and epiphany.Trade ReviewOne of the finest prose stylists in American fiction * New York Times *Nine tales of human endurance, accomplishment, and epiphany told with style and brio. Mason is one of our best historical novelists, creating panoramas of rich detail, propulsive plot, and artful character development in novels such as The Piano Tuner and The Winter Soldier. In his first story collection, he shows how quickly and completely he can immerse readers in a foreign place and time . . . An enchanting cabinet of curiosities and wonders * Kirkus *I've given up picking perfect sentences to read aloud and am now just reciting the entire book. The talent of Daniel Mason - using words in this way is witchcraft, surely -- Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll FactoryUnique and beguiling... Mason's first short story collection is a treasure trove of lush scene setting in faraway times and places, from the wilds of England to the Malay Archipelago... A perfect and fitting pick for these seemingly endless days when science, our understanding of reality and a faint longing for human connection are so irrevocably intertwined * San Francisco Chronicle *What I've found most remarkable about Mason's fiction is the quality of his revelations, his ability to unveil temperaments, habits, natures. His stories are mysteries, albeit not in the genre sense... In all of the stories, you can see Mason figuring out new strategies to get closer to the people he is writing about. Each is a portrait, each a deep dive into an individual's nature, each rooted in history * New York Times Magazine *Mason is particularly strong at depicting the state of mind a character works himself into when struggling with fear, uncertainty or even impostor syndrome… the subjects and settings provide a pleasing unity. The grand pleasures of fiction are all here: rich, cushioning detail; vivid characters delivering decisive action; and a sense of escape into a larger world * Guardian *Mason conveys more in a short story than many authors manage in an entire novel * Christian Science Monitor *The characters in these robust short stories, set mostly in the nineteenth century, struggle as captains of their destinies * The New Yorker *A wonderful set of period tales that offer a welcome transportive escape... conjuring a vivid world of scientific endeavor and human isolation in myriad settings -- Mariella FrostrupDaniel Mason is a masterful storyteller, and these stories---the attention to history and science and all that is unknown---are nothing short of brilliant. With exquisite, mesmerizing language, he transports us to places far beyond the realm of our realities and then lands us in ways wholly intimate and moving. A Registry Of My Passage Upon the Earth is a marvel and a journey not to be missed -- Jill McCorkle, bestselling author of Life After LifeMason's melodious, introspective collection locates startling depth in a series of engrossing character studies... The title story is a standout, rendered in the form of a madman's ravings, in which a gifted writer is compelled to obsessively catalogue every poignant piece of human existence. Mason is a brilliant wordsmith... and respectful of his readers by not giving away too much. Each story is informed and deepened by scientific inquisitiveness, and rewards readers with understated philosophical insight. This showcases Mason's wide range and mastery of lyrical precision * Publisher's Weekly *Transporting... Pinpoint physical details and precisely articulated emotions collide with the mystical, while scientific quests drive characters to extremes... With touches of Borges and Calvino, Mason's fabulist stories are works of tenderness and awe for human curiosity, passion, mad valor, and profound resiliency * Booklist *

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Book SynopsisIn paperback for the first time, this second volume of Louis L’Amour’s collected stories showcases thirty more classic tales of the American frontier. Inside you will find the stories of heroism, honor and sacrifice that L’Amour made uniquely his own: like that of a young man sent out alone into a blizzard to face a deadly stampede, or a lawman who finds the bullet-riddled body of an infamous Mexican bandit and knows duty demands he track down a far more dangerous predator. Featuring  L’Amour’s signature stories of Texas Ranger Chick Bowdrie, this collection captures men and women at the crossroads of friendship and suspicion, loyalty or betrayal.

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Book SynopsisThis paperback will feature two Christmas-themed stories: the much-loved classic, “The Gift of the Magi,” and “Whistling Dick’s Christmas Stocking.” 

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Book SynopsisFrom Ancient Egypt to science fiction, the sun casts a long shadow over myth, legend and the modern short story.A feast of modern fiction, folklore and mythology, you''ll find new stories from submissions, and ancient tales of the looming, life-giving, eye-burning solar entity that dominates our sky. The sun has inspired many stories - tales of its origins and influence, in the myths and traditions of the ancient world, to modern storytellers who employ technology and deep space exploration to discover the many suns of the universe. For ancient Egyptians, the sun deity Ra was the first Pharaoh; in the ancient Vedic culture the sun, Surya, was guarded against the darkness by Usha and Pratyusha; for the Norse, the beautiful siblings Sol and Mani drove the sun ahead of the snarling wolf Sköll; for the ancient Chinese, it was a demon or dragon who threatened the sun and an eclipse was a sign of near success; for the Cherokee, the Sun was jealous of the moon because the people could only squint during the day, but looked adoringly at the pale moon light of the night. The Maori of New Zealand tell of the sun being ambushed by Maui, and for the Romans, Aurora, the Goddess of the Dawn, brought renewal and relief across the lands. Such stories reveal the foundations of humanity, alongside modern writers who explore the other worlds and many stars that dispense both life and fear to civilizations on our own and so many other planets.New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Maddox Emory Arnold, Beston Barnett, Cara Giles, Amanda Ilozumba, J.A. Johnson, Andrew Knighton, Joshua Lim, Ondine Mayor, Damien Mckeating, Stewart Moore, Owen Morgan, Christopher R. Muscato, Rob Nisbet, Katherine Quevedo, E.C. Robinson, Faye Snowden, Rose Strickman, Alyza Taguilaso, Lauren C. Teffeau, and Caroline Winge. These appear alongside classic work by William Hope Hodgson, Amy Lowell, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and more, plus mythology, folklore and indigenous tales from around the world.The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

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Book SynopsisCharles Dickens is a much-loved author for his vast and important contributions to English literature. This collection brings together his supernatural short stories, some of which were included in his longer works, and others that originally featured in magazines, including ‘The Bagman’s Story’, ‘The Ghost in the Bride’s Chamber’ and ‘To Be Read at Dusk’, among others. They are all fantastically gripping stories from one of the greatest writers of all-time. Essential collaborations with his acolytes Wilkie Collins and Elizabeth Gaskell are also included.

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Book SynopsisNewly discovered collection of unpublished stories by key figure and Nobel Prize winner in literature, these fable-like stories carry Mahfouz's signature observations of the human character, taking the reader deep into the beating heart of CairoTrade Review`A master of both detailed realism and fabulous storytelling' The Guardian; `A towering literary figure, and the joyous chronicler of a turbulent Egyptian century' The Economist; `Egypt's greatest living writer ... one of the world's most humane literary figures' Laila Lalami, The Nation; `The Arab Tolstoy' Simon Sebag Montefiore; `Adds yet another essential chapter to the oeuvre of a literary figure of greatness.' The National; `Smooth reading ... a compelling experiment in sound and echo.' Qantara; `This new folio of interconnected stories is very much part of Mahfouz's late experiments.' ArabLit; `A glimpse into a world that seems both ancient and distant ... [Mahfouz's] "simple" characters reveal to the reader not just the brutality of everyday life but also its distorted beauty. They show the complexities and uniqueness of their world and in doing so offer lessons for all of humanity to draw on ... a teasing glimpse of Mahfouz's work ... seek it out.' Socialist Review; `Masterly ... Unmistakably Cairene ... translated with practised clarity by Roger Allen.' TLS; `Naguib Mahfouz's legacy as Egypt's greatest novelist is sustained with these engaging short stories ... their themes are timeless.' New Statesman

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Book Synopsis‘I started to write short pieces when I was living in a room too small to write a novel in.’ So says Angela Carter of this collection, written during a period living in Toyko. These exotic, sensuous stories represent Carter’s first major achievement in the short story form. Lush imaginary forests, a murderous puppet show and an expressionistic vision of Japan: each one instantly conjures an atmosphere, dark and luminous in turn, and from the recognisably daring imagination of one of the great twentieth-century stylists.Trade ReviewExotic and sensuous * Sunday Times *Luminous * The Age *It is hard to imagine the literary landscape without Angela Carter. Hers is a legacy that extends way beyond the bounds of her own work * Independent *I can't think of anyone who is at that pitch of intellectual commentary, fictional experimentation and fullness of expression. I'm not a patch on her. Jesus, I wish I was -- Ali SmithIts autobiographical stories set in Japan, where she had gone to live with a Japanese lover, give off a direct and poignant emotion. They show her changing, too * Independent *

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Book SynopsisIn this powerful, debut collection of stories, Rania Mamoun expertly blends the real and imagined to create a rich, complex and moving portrait of contemporary Sudan. From painful encounters with loved ones to unexpected new friendships, Mamoun illuminates the breadth of human experience and explores, with humour and compassion, the alienation, isolation and estrangement that is urban life.Trade Review'It is a phenomenal, exacting collection. It's intense and intimate, and always bordering, with absolute control, on the subversive and erotic. It's also very funny - Rania Mamoun is an extraordinary talent.'- Preti Taneja, author of We That Are Young; ‘A stunning collection, remarkable for its sweet clarity of voice and startling depictions of the marginalised and the destitute. With mastery, Rania Mamoun reaches straight into the heartbeat of her subject matter, laying bare humanity in all its tenderness and tenacity.’ – Leila Aboulela, author of Elsewhere Home; 'Set in Khartoum, this debut collection in English by Rania Mamoun is one of my favourite books of recent years. Her narrative skill creates space for us to observe the characters, and her non-judgmental depiction of Life and lives is filled with humanity.' - Rónán Hession, author of Leonard and Hungry Paul

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Book SynopsisThe Three Impostors (1895) is a novel by Arthur Machen. Consisting of interwoven stories involving the title characters, The Three Impostors was compared to the prose style of Robert Louis Stevenson on publication. Condemned as decadent and obscene upon publication, Machen’s writing earned praise from Oscar Wilde and H. P. Lovecraft. Throughout the years, Machen’s work has been referenced and adapted by such figures as Stephen King, Guillermo del Toro, and Josh Malerman for its masterfully unsettling blend of science, myth, and magic. Inspired by his knowledge of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which was undergoing a controversial conflict involving Irish poet W. B. Yeats and English mystic Aleister Crowley at the time, Machen crafts a layered tale of suspense and secrecy that continues to entertain and surprise over a century after its release. In London, a secret society of occultists gains strength through mutual disdain of modern life and Victorian social conventions. Three impostors gifted in the art of deceit do their best to disrupt city life while embarking on a quest for an Imperial Roman coin with a salacious history. The Three Impostors is a kaleidoscopic novel concerned with the horrors ever present on the outskirts of daily life, waiting to make themselves known. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Arthur Machen’s The Three Impostors is a classic of British horror fiction reimagined for modern readers.

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Book Synopsis“Locus Award winner Lee (Phoenix Extravagant) takes on the folktale form in a collection of 25 gorgeous, magical stories, tiny jewels of worldbuilding that tap into mythic themes to feel somehow both ancient and delightfully fresh… The result is breathtaking in its playful grace." —Publisher’s Weekly Starred ReviewEnter a world of magic and myth, where foxes fall in love and robots build their own dragons. In The Fox’s Tower and Other Tales, New York Times bestselling author Yoon Ha Lee crafts together short and moving stories of love, adventure, magic, and nature. With poetic language and intricate world building, readers will be whisked away to a different adventure with every new story. Full of fascinating creatures and LGBT+ romances, this flash fiction collection combines the classic with the contemporary in Yoon’s captivating style.

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Book SynopsisA murderer discovers his true nature from a talking infant, a samurai is frustrated in his attempts to meditate, and a dying man bestows his hat on a friend in these surrealistic short stories. Written by the father of Japanese modernist literature, the dream-like, open-ended tales offer thought-provoking reading. This edition includes a fine new English translation by a noted expert.

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Book SynopsisA man is thrown out of his home after his wife discovers that the sweat-smudged footprint on the inside of his windscreen doesn't match her own. Teenage cousins, drugged by summer, meet with a reckoning in the woods. A boy runs off to the carnival after his stepfather bites him in a brawl. In the stories of Wells Tower, families fall apart and messily, hilariously try to reassemble themselves. His characters - marauding Vikings, washed-up entrepreneurs and jobbing hacks on local papers - are adrift from the mainstream, confused by contemporary masculinity, angry and aimless. Combining electric prose with compassion and dark wit, this is a major debut.Trade ReviewTower's prose is muscular and poetic with an almost vertiginous momentum and his characters teeter on the brink of emotional collapse ... This is a collection that, for once, lives up to the hype. Watch out for Wells * Sunday Times *Short stories exploring love, violence and the fear that has us lying, eyes open, in the dark. An extraordinary debut and a sensitive, surprising voice * The Times Review *Reading them, you are reminded of how Richard Ford, a master of the craft, once proposed the quality of "audacity" as the defining characteristic of perfect short stories, suggesting that they were always "the high-wire act of literature". In this sense, Tower certainly makes you crane your neck * Observer *Like David Foster Wallace, Tower taps into what lies beneath, often comically. There are dazzling points of light and compassion in the darkness * Independent on Sunday *The failed American dream is frequently picked over in literature, but this debut collection of short stories will make you feel you've never read about it before ... the disarming honesty and startling imagery make each tale an intense, articulate and near-tangible nugget of cultural disaffection * Sunday Telegraph *Stories from modern America - angry young men, mellow young men, troubled teenage girls, sons visiting demented fathers - by an edgy, ultra-realist young writer. * The Times *Towers is an original, with an extraordinary way with words * The Times *

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Book SynopsisV. S. Pritchett, one our greatest short-story writers, has chosen forty-one stories written in the English language for this volume, producing a collection that successfully displays the wealth and variety of an art that spans some 200 years. Great Britain, America, and especially Eire have fine traditions of short-story writing that have developed from the time of Sir Walter Scott and Nathaniel Hawthorne, while in the last century the art was perfected by Ernest Hemingway, D. H. Lawrence, W. Somerset Maugham, John Updike, and V. S. Pritchett himself. The Irish contribution includes such masters as James Joyce, Frank O''Connor, and Liam O''Flaherty, and stories by Canadian, Indian, New Zealand, and Australian writers show the full range of invention and ability in a genre that continues to flourish.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition Look for this book at airport departure lounge bookshops and guarantee youself a good flight. * Evening Echo *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION; REFERENCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; INDEX OF AUTHORS

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Book SynopsisDON''T MISS THE STUNNING AND ROMANTIC NEW NOVEL FROM SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR VERONICA HENRY - ORDER THE SECRET BEACH NOW!Escape to the coast with this delicious collection of short stories and beach-hut inspired recipes from Sunday Times bestselling author Veronica Henry - the perfect summer treat!****''Beach bliss! A delicious combination of food and fiction'' SARAH MORGAN''The essential accompaniment to summer. A pure delight of a book!'' MILLY JOHNSON''The perfect book to take on beachside holiday or a weekend away'' CRESSIDA MCLAUGHLINOn a shimmering summer''s day, the waves are calling, the picnic basket is packed, and change is in the air. It''s just the start of an eventful day for a cast of holidaymakers: over one day, sparks will fly, the tide will bring in old faces and new temptations, a proposal is planned, and an unexpected romance simmers... This uplifting collection ofTrade ReviewA delicious collection of short stories, transporting you to the golden sands of Everdene. Add in 50 of the author's own recipes that are perfect for a summer's day and this is the beach read you'll want - Woman's WeeklyFabulous feel-good storyteller Veronica Henry is ready to whisk us away to the coastal joys and sunshine food of Everdene Sands, a place that offers comfort to the heart, mind and soul - Lancashire Post

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Book SynopsisDanilo Kiš (Author) Danilo Kiš was born in the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1935. After an unsettled childhood during the Second World War, in which several of his family members were killed, Kiš studied literature at the University of Belgrade where he lived for most of his adult life. He wrote novels, short stories and poetry and went on to receive the prestigious NIN Award for his novel Pešcanik. He died in Paris in 1989.Trade ReviewI urge you to read this reissued collection from a writer who reinvented and invigorated the short story...[The title story] is one of the most moving I have ever read, a testament to both the power and the weakness of literature and human memory... He is one of those writers you feel is on your side. In short, I cannot recommend this book highly enough, or urge it on you more strongly -- Nicholas Lezard * Guardian *Kis is woefully undervalued. He belongs at the centre of European literature, not on its fringes. . .It is past time for Kis's rediscovery. * New Statesman *Compulsively readable * Daily Telegraph *Kiš is one of the great European writers of the post-war period * Guardian *Fantasy chases reality and reality chases fantasy. Pirandello and Borges are not far away. But these names are intended as approximate references. Kiš is a new, original writer -- Leonardo Sciascia * Times Literary Supplement *In The Encyclopedia of the Dead, Danilo Kiš offers a vision that expands the domain of life at the expense of that of death. These stories present that vision with a journalist's precision, with a taxidermist's tactile knowledge of era and realm, with the tenacity of a true son of the century -- Joseph BrodskyIntense and exotic, his mysteries hint at unspeakable secrets that remain forever beyond the story-teller's grasp -- Boyd TonkinThis translation, by Michael Henry Heim, is superb * Independent *The Encyclopedia of the Dead is a book of wonders, product of a vivid imagination that is yet a model of narrative restraint * RTE *

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Book SynopsisEighty short stories by a master of the genre O. Henry's comic eye and unique, ironic approach to life's realities are unmatched. These stories—about con men and tricksters and innocent deceivers, about fate, luck, and coincidence—have delighted generations of readers. Set in New York and the West, in Central America and the South, they demonstrate O. Henry's mastery of speech and place, and highlight his appreciation of life's quirks.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.Table of ContentsSelected StoriesIntroductionSuggestions for Further ReadingFrom The Four Million (1906)The Coming-Out of MaggieA Service of LoveBetween RoundsAn Unfinished StoryAfter Twenty YearsBy CourierFrom The Trimmed Lamp (1907)The PendulumThe Buyer from Cactus CityBrickdust RowThe Foreign Policy of Company 99The Count and the Wedding GuestThe Country of ElusionFrom Heart of the West (1907)The Ransom of MackThe Higher AbdicationA Call LoanThe Princess and the PumaThe Indian Summer of Dry Valley JohnsonThe Reformation of CalliopeFrom The Voice of the City (1908)The Complete Life of Johns HopkinsDoughtery's Eye-OpenerWhile the Auto WaitsThe Defeat of the CityThe Plutonian FireSquaring the CircleThe Fool-KillerTransients in ArcadiaExtradited from BohemiaFrom Each According to His AbilityThe MementoFrom The Gentle Grafter (1908)Jeff Peters as a Personal MagnetModern Rural SportsThe Man Higher UpHostages to MomusFrom Roads of Destiny (1909)The Guardian of the AccoladePhoebeA Double-Dyed DeceiverA Retrieved ReformationFriends in San RosarioThe Emancipation of BillyA Departmental CaseThe Renaissance at CharleroiTwo RenegadesFrom Options (1909)"The Rose of Dixie"Schools and SchoolsThimble, ThimbleThe Moment of VictoryNo StoryFrom Strictly Business (1910)The Gold That GlitteredThe Day ResurgentThe Thing's the PlayA Municipal ReportProof of the PuddingThe VenturersFrom Whirligigs (1910)The Theory and the HoundThe Ransom of Red ChiefThe Whirligig of LifeThe Roads We TakeA Blackjack BargainerOne Dollar's WorthMadame Bo-Peep, of the RanchesFrom Sixes and Sevens (1911)Witches' LoavesThe Duplicity of HargravesOctober and JuneThe Church with an Overshot-WheelFrom Rolling Stones (1912)The Atavism of John Tom Little BearThe Marquis and Miss SallyFrom Waifs and Strays (1917)Out of NazarethHearts and Hands

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Book SynopsisIn this, her first collection of short stories, Winterson reveals all the facets of her extraordinary imagination. In prose that is full of imagery and word-play, she creates physical and psychological worlds that are at once familiar and yet shockingly strange.Trade ReviewA greatly gifted and original writer...there is an exhilarating freshness and energy to this collection * Observer *This first book of short stories will delight her fans with their daring. Whether in a world where sleep is illegal or on an island of diamonds where the rich wear coal jewellery, Winterson is the mistress of the short story -- Jessica de Rothschild * Tatler *The quality of her writing has remained constant: precise, fluent, perfectly judged. This collection is another refinement of that art, studded with metaphors and unexpected asides * Independent on Sunday *The short story form was made for Jeanette Winterson...mesmerising prose poems * The Times *Her stories transport us into the dizzyingly fertile mind of one of Britain's most prodigiously gifted authors...breathtaking * Scotland on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisP. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) is widely regarded as the greatest comic writer of the 20th century. Wodehouse wrote more than 70 novels and 200 short stories, creating numerous much-loved characters - the inimitable Jeeves and Wooster, Lord Emsworth and his beloved Empress of Blandings, Mr Mulliner, Ukridge, and Psmith. His humorous articles were published in more than 80 magazines, including Punch, over six decades. He was also a highly successful music lyricist, once with over five musicals running on Broadway simultaneously. P.G. Wodehouse was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for 'an outstanding and lasting contribution to the happiness of the world'.Trade ReviewThe gold standard of English wit … There is not, and never will be, anything to touch him -- Christopher HitchensThe funniest writer ever to put words to paper -- Hugh LaurieFor as long as I'm immersed in a P.G. Wodehouse book, it's possible to keep the real world at bay and live in a far, far nicer, funnier one where happy endings are the order of the day -- Marian Keyes

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Book SynopsisAleksandar Hemon is the author of The Making of Zombie Wars; The Book of My Lives, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award; The Lazarus Project, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award and a New York Times bestseller; The World and All That It Holds; and three books of short stories, including Nowhere Man, which was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Genius' grant from the MacArthur Foundation.Trade ReviewYou will go a long way to find anything better than this -- Edward Docx, author of Let Go My HandThere is simply more history and more drama in Hemon’s stories than in a shelf and a half of the usual dayglo Anglo-American entertainment * Guardian *Like Nabokov, Hemon writes with the startling peeled vision of the outsider, weighing words as if for the first time; he shares with Kundera an ability to find grace and humour in the bleakest of circumstances * Observer *A storyteller, funny and sad in equal measure, and always entertaining * Scotland on Sunday *Amazing. The personal fall-out of political failure has never been so searing * Time Out *

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Book SynopsisA landmark anthology that will introduce many extraordinary, unknown Russian writers to an English-language readership for the first time       Fleeing Russia amid the chaos of the Russian Revolution and subsequent Civil War, many writers went on to settle in Paris, Berlin and elsewhere and forged new lives in exile. Much of their subsequent work, published in Russian language magazines and books, is entirely unknown in the West and has only been recently discovered in Russia itself. As well as including stories by the most famous émigré writers, Vladimir Nabokov and Ivan Bunin, this collection introduces many lesser known voices: Yuri Felzen, known as the Russian Proust, Nadezhda Teffi, the hugely popular and funny story writer, and Georgy Ivanov, whose work of poetic prose The Atom Explodes is a brilliant, haunting response to the upheaval and trauma of emigration. Exploring themes of displacement, nostalgia, loss and new beginninTrade ReviewA brilliant, poignant anthology -- Alexis Levitin * Los Angeles Review of Books *A rich anthology ... Editor and lead translator Bryan Karetnyk has done a marvellous job ... The translations maintain a high standard of literary quality and precision. Admirably equipped with biographical and explanatory notes, this anthology presents to the Anglophone reader, for the first time, a unified representation of the authors and disparate, yet interlinked cultural contexts of first-wave Russian emigration -- Judges, Read Russia Prize 2018Compelling ... Karetnyk's anthology transports the reader into the motley lives and imaginations of Russian émigrés in Paris, Berlin and beyond. Highly recommended reading for anyone fascinated by prerevolutionary Russian culture as preserved among the ranks of the two million-odd Whites that formed the first wave of emigration from Bolshevik Russia. -- Anna Gunin * The Riveter *Ably translated ... Bryan Karetnyk has produced that most welcome artefact in this age of the floating text: an 'enhanced' paperback whose fictive stories are fully equipped with their histories. Writers' biographies, historical chronology, a list of Russian émigré venues, and well-researched footnotes serve to anchor each narrative in its own peripatetic time and space -- Caryl Emerson * Times Literary Supplement *A powerful reminder of the trauma of civil war and hardships of displacement ... The stories evoke a lost world with attendant nostalgia, sorrow, fear and anger ... Rarely has the term 'unjustly neglected' rung more true * Country Life *Brilliantly translated by Bryan Karetnyk ... A truly wonderful selection * Los Angeles Review of Books Radio Hour *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Sunday Times short story prizeWinner of the Edge Hill short story prizeA kiss that just won''t happen. A disco at the end of the world. A teenage goth on a terror mission. And OAP kiddie-snatchers, and scouse real-ale enthusiasts, and occult weirdness in the backwoods...Dark Lies the Island is a collection of unpredictable stories about love and cruelty, crimes, desperation, and hope from the man Irvine Welsh has described as ''the most arresting and original writer to emerge from these islands in years''. Every page is shot through with the riotous humour, sympathy and blistering language that mark Kevin Barry as a pure entertainer and a unique teller of tales.Trade ReviewStealthy and shimmering * Boston Globe *He writes short stories that will satisfy any reader -- Shane Hegarty * Irish Times *This book of short stories seals Barry's rep as one of the most original voices to emerge from the Emerald Isle in some years. Full of acute observation and sly wit, this collection is the ideal companion to his equally excellent novel, City of Bohane -- Ryan Rushton * Skinny *These darkly comic short stories are beautifully written and the author’s keen appreciation of the vernacular makes the characters leap off the page and thump you in the face -- Ciara Geraghty * Woman's Way *Wonderfully, restlessly alive * The Times *

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Book SynopsisThe Red Badge of Courage (1895) is a vivid psychological account of a young man's experience of fighting in the American Civil War, based on Crane's reading of popular descriptions of battle. The other stories collected in this volume draw on Crane's subsequent experience of war reporting and include `The Open Boat, `The Monster' and `The Blue Hotel'. This edition is the most generously annotated available of Crane's work, focusing on his place as anexperimental writer, his modernist legacy and his social as well as literary revisionism.Table of ContentsINCLUDES THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE, 'THE OPEN BOAT, 'THE MONSTER', 'THE BLUE HOTEL'

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Book SynopsisTrade Reviewthe editions deserve great credit for the enthusiasm of their approach ... The introductions by eminent scholars put the thoughts of the author and the history of the time into clear perspective. Oxford should be given credit for making the classics accessible for all rather than just crib notes for students. * Jonathan Copeland, Lincolnshire Echo *Table of ContentsNevsky Prospect ; The Nose ; The Portrait ; The Overcoat ; The Carriage ; Diary of a Madman

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Book SynopsisThese sumptuous new hardback editions mark the 70th anniversary of Fitzgerald''s death.Encompassing the very best of F. Scott Fitzgerald''s short fiction, this collection spans his career, from the early stories of the glittering Jazz Age, through the lost hopes of the thirties, to the last, twilight decade of his life. It brings together his most famous stories, including ''The Diamond as Big as the Ritz'', a fairy tale of unlimited wealth; the sad and hilarious stories of Hollywood hack Pat Hobby; and ''The Lost Decade'', written in Fitzgerald''s last years.

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Book SynopsisCampbell gives voice to the extraordinary (never ordinary) men and women of Manchester. He goes beyond the King''s English and formulaic approaches to short stories to capture, in print, how people really talk. Think James Kelman, Irvine Welsh, but Mancunian. Funny and heartfelt, this book is a romp to whizz through with pleasure. Forget mad for it Madchester, this is the Manchester of now, where Hacienda clichés turn into corporate nightmares and the only art is in marketing.

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Book SynopsisFrom the twice Man Booker longlisted author of From a Low and Quiet Sea'Donal Ryan, one of our most remarkable writers, has produced a book of short stories of such visceral power that they hit you in the solar plexus. He deals with the dark side of modern Irish life and produces sentences of titanic impact.' IRISH MAIL ON SUNDAYAn old man looks into the fearful eyes of a burglar left to guard him while his brother is beaten; an Irish priest in a war-torn Syrian town teaches its young men the art of hurling; the driver of a car which crashed, killing a teenage girl, forges a connection with the girl's mother; a squad of broken friends assemble to take revenge on a rapist; a young man sets off on his morning run, reflecting on the ruins of his relationship, but all is not as it seems.Donal Ryan's short stories pick up where his acclaimed novels The Spinning Heart and The Thing About December left off, dealing with the human cost of loneliness, isolation and displacement. Sometimes this is present in the ordinary, the mundane; sometimes it is triggered by a fateful encounter or a tragic decision. At the heart of these stories, crucially, is how people are drawn to each other and cling on to love, often in desperate circumstances.In haunting and often startling prose, Donal Ryan has captured the brutal beauty of the human heart in all its hopes and failings._________'Donal Ryan is a heartbreaker, his quicksilver prose laced with ... wistful rhythms ... These breathtaking stories explore human love against an uneasy landscape of violence and desperation... Donal finds hope in dark corners.' DAILY MAIL'Donal Ryan is a master of the magnetic first line ... His faithful subject is rural despair; the poetry of adversity, the baffling fortitude of intrinsically decent people ... This collection shows Ryan adding his own elastic yet distinctive voice to O'Connor's impeccable tradition.' GUARDIANTrade Review"Donal Ryan's ambition is to evoke the marginal or washed-up existences of people in a global but very non-metropolitan Ireland as the 21st century dawns... He channels their voices with consummate ventriloquism ... Ryan's ear for an authentically crackling colloquialism is as sharp as ever... Ryan's skill with language flicks out slang and abuse with a masterly touch ... his ear is sharply attuned and his sense of irony remains mordant." -- Roy Foster The Irish Times "Donal Ryan, one of our most remarkable writers, has produced a book of short stories of such visceral power that they hit you in the solar plexus. He deals with the dark side of modern Irish life and produces sentences of titanic impact." -- Joe Duffy Irish Mail on Sunday "Outstanding stories ... There's a bracing - indeed, sometimes saving - humour ... and there's a tenderness, too, towards many of the collection's lost souls... Ryan is already such a master of the short form that even when you dread the outcome, you can't stop reading." -- John Boland Irish Independent "Donal Ryan is a heartbreaker, his quicksilver prose laced with ... wistful rhythms ... These breathtaking stories explore human love against an uneasy landscape of violence and desperation... Donal finds hope in dark corners. 'Sky' [is] a story about everything - life, loss and loneliness - but also just about one man's love for his nephew. [The title story's] gentle and redemptive ending leaves you gaping with wonder." Daily Mail "Donal Ryan is a master of the magnetic first line... His faithful subject is rural despair; the poetry of adversity, the baffling fortitude of intrinsically decent people... These are plain-speaking stories, and in spite of the pervasive woe, this plain speech lends itself to blunt, bleak, brilliant humour... Each unit of language has been scrupulously positioned, though the overall effect is of effortlessness... This collection shows Ryan adding his own elastic yet distinctive voice to O'Connor's impeccable tradition." -- Sara Baume The Guardian

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Book SynopsisDiscover this brooding collection of short stories from one of Britain''s finest writers. A world where everyday life crackles with the electricity sparking between men and women, between parents and children, between friends. A son confesses to his mother that he is cheating on his girlfriend; a student falls in love with her lecturer and embarks on an affair with a man in the pub who looks just like him. Young mothers pent-up in childcare dream treacherously of other possibilities; a boy becomes aware of the woman, a guest at his parents'' holiday home, who is pressing up too close against him on the beach. Hidden away inside the present, the past is explosive; the future can open unexpectedly out of any chance encounter; ordinary moments are illuminated with lightning flashes of dread or pleasure. These stories about family life are somehow undomesticated and dangerous.''She is the writer we didn''t know we were waiting for, until she arrived'' ATrade ReviewFew writers give me such consistent pleasure -- Zadie SmithShe has such great psychological insights into human beings, which is rare. She is one of the best fiction writers writing today -- Chimamanda Ngozie AdichieTruly absorbing... a masterful yet understated read... More please * Sunday Express *Brilliant... Hadley's style is as discreet as good tailoring * Independent *The stories sparkle...Hadley is fascinating for the way she admits a fantasy or a missed chance can be more significant than the actual events that shape a life * Metro *

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Book SynopsisA lawyer by day and a creator of a world of fantasy by night, Hoffman (1776-1822) lived a Jekyll and Hyde existence. Many of the characters in his stories are subject to a similar split personality.   The duality of his nature is frequently reflected in some of his characters—Cardillac the goldsmith in Mademoiselle de Scudéry and Nathaniel in The Sandman, for example. Cardillac is a virtuous, industrious man by day but a violent criminal at night, while Nathaniel, obsessed by a childhood fantasy, is driven to madness and cruelty.   These tales can be read on several levels: as an expression of the concerns of the Romantic era, as impressive examples of German Romantic literature and as exciting works of fiction made all the more extraordinary by their concern with the supernatural and the bizarre.Table of ContentsTales of HoffmanIntroductionMademoiselle de ScuderyThe SandmanThe ArtushofCouncillor KrespelThe EntailDoge and DogaressaThe Mines at FalunThe Choosing of the Bride

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