"The Adventure of the Speckled Band” by Arthur Conan Doyle Number 19 of 27 Great British Short Stories Premise: In April 1883, Sherlock and Watson save a woman from Evil. Review: Ah, brilliant stuff. I read this forty years ago. I should read all the short stories. Why did I not do this 40 plus... Continue Reading →
“The Poor Relation’s Story” by Charles Dickens #GBSS18/27
“The Poor Relation's Story” by Charles Dickens Number 18 of 27 Great British Short Stories Premise: A shaggy dog from an unreliable narrator Review: I did not "get" this at all, and may simply need to re-read. Or perhaps the whole thing about father figures is too close to the bone? Who knows. Outa ten:... Continue Reading →
“Physic” by Water De La Mare #GBSS17/27
"Physic” by Water De La Mare Number 17 of 27 Great British Short Stories Premise: A mother and wife nurses a sick child, and a deadbeat husband. A doctor has words… Review: This is brilliant. The man could observe, write, cut. Outa ten: 10 Keywords: love, procrastination, advice Quotes: “It was a little way Emilia... Continue Reading →
Ooooh baby we’re (over) half way there: Great British Short Stories
A few weeks ago, for a quid, I got a copy of "Great British Short Stories" introduced by - but not selected by - JB Priestley. Published in 1970ish, it has 27 short stories (some 900 words, some maybe 5,000 or so) from, well, British, people. About three quarters of the men, as you'd expect.... Continue Reading →
“Winter’s Morning” by Len,Deighton #GBSS16/27
"Winter's Morning” by Len,Deighton Number 16 of 27 Great British Short Stories Premise: Flyboys (or grizzled old veterans aged 20 or so) go out on a dawn patrol during WW1 Review: The man could write! (he is still alive, just retired) Outa ten: 10 - now I want to read the other short stories he... Continue Reading →
“Parson’s Pleasures” by Roald Dahl #GBSS15/27
"Parson's Pleasures” by Roald Dahl Number 15 of 27 Great British Short Stories Premise: a shady furniture trader is too clever (greedy) by half. Review: Loved it. Typical Dahl. I do believe I read a knock off of this in Reader’s Digest about 40 years ago. Pierre Bourdieu would have loved this one Wikipedia page... Continue Reading →
The Higgler” by A.E. Coppard #GBSS14/27
The Higgler” by A.E. Coppard Number 14 of 27 Great British Short Stories Premise: A poor travelling salesman/buyer (a “Higgler”) misjudges a situation, to his cost. Review: Lovely, but bitter/sad. Three consequential deaths - the mouse, the horse, the human. Outa ten: 10 Keywords: Love, Poverty, Death Quotes: “Mrs Sadgrove had been a widow for... Continue Reading →
“The Brute” by Joseph Conrad #GBSS13/27
"The Brute” by Joseph Conrad Number 13 of 27 Great British Short Stories Premise: Death Ship!! The Brute was written in early 1906, and published in The Daily Chronicle in December 1906. It was later collected in A Set of Six, published in 1908 (UK) and 1915 (US). The other stories in this collection of... Continue Reading →
“The Traveller’s Story of a Terribly Strange Bed” by Wilkie Collins #GBSS12/27
“The Traveller's Story of a Terribly Strange Bed” by Wilkie Collins Number 12 of 27 Great British Short Stories Premise: Someone wins a lot of money gambling, but there’s a catch Wikipedia page here Review: Fun, overwrought etc Outa ten: 8 Keywords: Paris, crime Quotes: none Words: Valance - A bed valance, or bed skirt,... Continue Reading →
“The Hammer of God” by G.K. Chesterton #GBSS11/27
“The Hammer of God” by G.K. Chesterton Number 11 of 27 Great British Short Stories Premise: Father Brown has to solve an insoluble murder, in just a few pages. Review: Yes, nicely done. I can see why the Father Brown stories are so successful, although it’s not really my thing Here’s the wikipedia entry. Outa... Continue Reading →
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