The Treasury of English Short Stories [antikvár]

The main function of this anthology of short stories by authors writing in English from countries other than the United States is to delight and enlighten readers of imaginative fiction. Included are stories by writers from England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, New Zealand, Australia, India, Canada, and South Africa which represent a cross section of some of the most brilliant short fiction ever assembled between the covers of a single book. The selections in this anthology are not arbitrary; they are both personal and historical in the sense that they reflect the heritage of the genre from a British perspective. As the dictionary states, an anthology is a bouquet, but as Randall Jarrell added, "A bouquet that leaves out most of the world's flowers." What he probably meant is that no matter how thick an anthology is it's only so thick, and like a small garden it can accommodate only so many selections from among the vast assortment of worthy and fascinating candidates eager for a space in the sun. The sixty-five stories in this Treasury provide a rich sample of the scope, variety, and quality of the English short story since Chaucer, as well as a survey of the evolution of the genre. The English short story is difficult to classify; in the case of this anthology, the word English is used to designate short stories written in the English language as well as to classify certain writers geographically. The technique used in English short stories can be apparently spontaneous as in the case of Katherine Mansfield or noticeably crafted and arch as in the work of Virginia Woolf. Its language may be economically casual or sensuously lyrical. Its setting may be recognizable and faintly nostalgic as in Charles Dickens or chilling and surreal as in the stories of Angela Carter and Roald Dahl. The conclusion may shock and take the reader by surprise as in Saki's stories or the basic conflict may be revealed immediately, shifting the reader's concern to details in the story or to characterization and dialogue as in the work of Frank O'Connor. Attempts to define the short story, especially the modern short story, have been numerous and perplexing. Poe's obvious, somewhat pedestrian