**A beautiful hardcover edition of the collected short stories of one of
the best short story writers who ever lived (Newsweek)--with an
introduction by the Booker Prize-winning author of The Sea.
**
Widely known for her extraordinary novels, including The Heat of the
Day, The House in Paris, and The Death of the Heart, Elizabeth
Bowen established herself in the front rank of twentieth-century writers
equally through her short fiction.
This collection includes seventy-nine magnificent stories written over
the course of four decades, including such beloved classics as
"Mysterious Kôr," "The Demon Lover," "Summer Night," "Ivy Gripped the
Steps," and "The Happy Autumn Fields." Whether placing her reader in a
remote Irish castle or a seaside Italian villa or bomb-scarred London
during the Blitz, Bowen was famous for scene setting of almost
hallucinatory vividness, but her ability to evoke inner landscapes of
spellbinding intensity was even more remarkable. Frustrated lovers,
acutely observed children, and even vengeful ghosts inhabit her tales
with an urgency and emotional complexity that make it clear that the
drama of human consciousness was her central subject. These stories are
enduring testimony to Bowen's reputation as a creator of finely chiseled
narratives--rich in imagination, psychological insight, and craft--that
transcend their time and place.
