The Story: Love, Loss and the Lives of Women: 100 Great Short Stories

by Victoria Hislop

  Behind him the water holds the memory of a man moving through it in cool midnight, a celluloid pool which he flickers to life, and is gone.

  We hope you enjoyed this book.

  To find out about Victoria Hislop, click here.

  To discover more books by Victoria Hislop, click here.

  For an invitation from the publisher, click here.

  About this Book

  Witty, heartbreaking, shocking, satirical: the short story can excite or sadden, entice or repulse. The one thing it can never be is dull. Now Victoria Hislop, passionate ambassador for the art of the short story, has collected 100 stories from her favourite women writers into one volume.

  Here are Man Booker Prize winners and Nobel Laureates, well-known feminists and famous wits, national treasures and rising stars. All handpicked by one of the nation’s best-loved novelists, there’s a story for every mood, mind-set and moment in life.

  Featuring an all star cast of authors including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Angela Carter, Margaret Drabble, Penelope Fitzgerald, Miranda July, Doris Lessing, Katherine Mansfield, Alice Munro, Dorothy Parker and Virginia Woolf, The Story is the biggest and most beautiful collection of women’s short fiction in print today.

  Also by Victoria Hislop

  The Island

  The Return

  The Thread

  One Cretan Evening and Other Stories

  The Last Dance and Other Stories

  Sink or Swim: The Self-help Book for Men who Never read Them

  (with Duncan Goodhew)

  About Victoria Hislop

  photo © Athena Liskou Photography

  VICTORIA HISLOP’s first novel, The Island, held the number one slot in the Sunday Times paperback chart for eight consecutive weeks and has sold over two million copies worldwide. Her second novel, The Return, was also a Sunday Times bestseller and her third, The Thread, was shortlisted for a British Book Award. Her books have been translated into more than 30 languages.

  A great fan of the short story, she has had her own published in magazines and newspapers, and her first collection, The Last Dance, has been widely acclaimed. She has also been a judge for several national competitions including the Costa Short Story Award.

  A Letter from the Publisher

  We hope you enjoyed this book. We are an independent publisher dedicated to discovering brilliant books, new authors and great storytelling. Please join us at www.headofzeus.com and become part of our community of book-lovers.

  We will keep you up to date with our latest books, author blogs, special previews, tempting offers, chances to win signed editions and much more.

  If you have any questions, feedback or just want to say hi, please drop us a line on hello@headofzeus.com

  @HoZ_Books

  HeadofZeusBooks

  Dedicated to great storytelling

  First published in the UK in 2013 by Head of Zeus Ltd

  Introduction Copyright © Victoria Hislop, 2013

  The moral right of Victoria Hislop to be identified as the editor of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

  The moral right of the contributing authors of this anthology to be identified as such is asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

  The list of individual titles and respective copyrights found on the following pages constitutes an extension of this copyright page.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is an anthology of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this work are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  9 7 5 3 1 2 4 6 8

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN (HB): 9781781851166

  ISBN (E): 9781781853603

  Head of Zeus Ltd

  Clerkenwell House

  45–47, Clerkenwell Green

  London EC1R 0HT

  www.headofzeus.com

  Extended Copyright

  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi: ‘The Thing Around Your Neck’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. © 2009, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

  Margaret Atwood: ‘Betty’ and ‘The Man from Mars’ reproduced with permission of Curtis Brown Group Ltd, London on behalf of O.W. Toad. Copyright © O.W. Toad, 1977.

  Nicola Barker: ‘Inside Information’, ‘G-String’ and ‘Wesley: Blisters’ from The Three Button Trick by Nicola Barker © Nicola Barker, 1996. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd., 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.

  Elizabeth Bowen: ‘A Walk in the Woods’ by Elizabeth Bowen © Elizabeth Bowen, 1980. Reproduced with permission of Curtis Brown Group, Ltd., London on behalf of Elizabeth Bowen.

  Clare Boylan: ‘My Son the Hero’ by Clare Boylan © Clare Boylan, 2000. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd., 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.

  A. S. Byatt: ‘The Thing in the Forest’ by A. S. Byatt © A. S. Byatt, 2003. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd., 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.

  Angela Carter: ‘The Bloody Chamber’ by Angela Carter © Angela Carter, 1979. ‘Master’ by Angela Carter © Angela Carter, 1995. Reproduced by permission of the Estate of Angela Carter c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd., 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.

  Elspeth Davie: ‘Change of Face’ and ‘A Weight Problem’ taken from The Night of the Funny Hats by Elspeth Davie, published by Penguin © 1980. Reproduced by permission of Sheil Land Associates, Ltd. ‘Choirmaster’ taken from The Man Who Wanted to Smell Books by Elspeth Davie. Reprinted with permission from Canongate Books, Ltd.

  Carys Davies: ‘The Redemption of Galen Pike’ by Carys Davies © 2011.

  Anita Desai: ‘Sale’ by Anita Desai © Anita Desai, 1978. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd., 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.

  Emma Donoghue: ‘The Lost Seed’ and ‘The Gift’ from Astray by Emma Donoghue, Picador, London. Copyright © Emma Donoghue, 2012. ‘Vanitas’ by Emma Donoghue taken from Like A Charm by Karin Slaughter. Published by Century. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Limited.

  Margaret Drabble: ‘Faithful Lovers’ (pp. 37-48) and ‘The Merry Widow’ (pp. 146-63) from A Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman: The Collected Stories by Margaret Drabble (Penguin Classics, 2011). Copyright © Margaret Drabble, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1989, 1993, 1999, 2000.

  Stella Duffy: ‘To Brixton Beach’ by Stella Duffy © Stella Duffy. Reprinted with permission from the author.

  Jennifer Egan: ‘Emerald City’ and ‘The Watch Trick’ by Jennifer Egan © Jennifer Egan. Reproduced by permission of Constable & Robinson.

  Anne Enright: ‘(She Owns) Every Thing’ and ‘Revenge’ taken from The Portable Virgin by Anne Enright. Published by Secker & Warburg. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Limited.

  Roshi Fernando: ‘The Turtle’ by Roshi Fernando © Roshi Fernando, 2012, Homesick, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

  Penelope Fitzgerald: ‘The Axe’, ‘The Prescription’ and ‘Desideratus’ by Penelope Fitzgerald © Penelope Fitzgerald. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd., 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.

  Mavis Gallant: ‘Rue de Lille’ from Overhead in a Balloon by Mavis Gallant. Reprinted with permission from Bloomsbury.

  Jane Gardam: ‘Telegony I: Going into a Dark House’ from Going Into A Dark House by Jane Gardam. Reprinted with permission from Abacus.

  Maggie Gee: ‘The Artist’ and ‘Good People’ © Maggie Gee, 2006, The Blue, Telegram.

  Ellen Gilchrist: ‘I
ndignities’, ‘1944’ and ‘Precious Pieces’ are reprinted by permission of Don Congdon Associates, Inc. Copyright © 1981 by Ellen Gilchrist.

  Nadine Gordimer: ‘Mother Tongue’ (2950 words) taken from Beethoven was One-Sixteenth Black and Other Stories by Nadine Gordimer. Reprinted by permission of A P Watt at United Agents on behalf of Nadine Gordimer.

  Susan Hill: ‘Father, Father’ taken from The Boy Who Taught the Beekeeper to Read by Susan Hill. Published by Random House © Susan Hill, 2003. Reproduced by permission of Sheil Land Associates, Ltd.

  A. M. Homes: ‘A Real Doll’, ‘The I of It’ and ‘Yours Truly’ from The Safety of Objects by A. M. Homes. First published in Great Britain by Granta Books, 2004. Acknowledgement is made to the following periodical these stories originally appeared in: Christopher Street.

  M. J. Hyland: ‘Even Pretty Eyes Commit Crimes’ by M. J. Hyland © M. J. Hyland, 2012. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd., 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.

  Shirley Jackson: ‘The Lottery’ (pp. 291-302) from The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson (Penguin Classics, 2009). Copyright © Shirley Jackson 1948, 1949.

  Elizabeth Jolley: ‘Waiting Room (The First)’ by Elizabeth Jolley, taken from The Georges’ Wife. Reprinted with permission from Jenny Darling Associates on behalf of the Estate of Elizabeth Jolley.

  Avril Joy: ‘Millie and Bird’ by Avril Joy, winner of the Costa Short Story Award, 2012. Copyright © Avril Joy, 2012. Reprinted with permission from the author and Costa Book Awards (www.costa.com / www.costabookawards.com).

  Miranda July: ‘The Shared Patio’ by Miranda July. Copyright © 2007, Miranda July. Used by permission of The Wylie Agency (UK) Limited.

  Anna Kavan: ‘A Visit’ and ‘Obsessional’ from the collection Julia and the Bazooka (1970) by Anna Kavan, Peter Owen Ltd., London.

  A. L. Kennedy: ‘Story of My Life’ from What Becomes by A. L. Kennedy. Reprinted with permission from House of Anansi Press, Toronto and Antony Harwood Limited.

  Doris Lessing: ‘How I Finally Lost My Heart’ by Doris Lessing. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd © 1963, Doris Lessing. ‘A Man and Two Women’ by Doris Lessing. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd © 1958, Doris Lessing. ‘Through the Tunnel’ by Doris Lessing. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd © 1955, Doris Lessing.

  Yiyun Li: ‘After a Life’ and ‘Love in the Marketplace’ by Yiyun Li. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd © 2005, Yiyun Li.

  Penelope Lively: ‘Corruption’ and ‘The Pill-Box’ from Corruption by Penelope Lively, 1984, William Heinemann, Ltd. ‘A World of Her Own’ from Nothing Missing but the Samovar by Penelope Lively, 1978, William Heinemann, Ltd.

  Alison Lurie: ‘Ilse’s House’, ‘In the Shadow’ and ‘Fat People’ from Women and Ghosts by Alison Lurie. Reprinted with permission from A P Watt at United Agents on behalf of Alison Lurie.

  Alison MacLeod: ‘The Heart of Denis Noble’ by Alison MacLeod, copyright © Alison MacLeod.

  Hilary Mantel: ‘Third Floor Rising’ and ‘Curved is the Line of Beauty’ by Hilary Mantel. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd © 2003, Hilary Mantel.

  Lorrie Moore: ‘Agnes of Iowa’ from Birds of America by Lorrie Moore, reprinted with permission from Faber and Faber Ltd.

  Alice Munro: ‘Mischief’ from Who Do You Think You Are?; ‘Miles City Montana’ from The Progress of Love; ‘Gravel’ and ‘The Eye’ from Dear Life by Alice Munro, published by Chatto & Windus. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Limited.

  Edna O’Brien: ‘Plunder’ taken from Saints and Sinners by Edna O’Brien © Edna O’Brien. Reprinted by permission of Faber and Faber Ltd.

  Flannery O’Connor: ‘The Live You Save May Be Your Own’ from A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor reprinted by permission of Peters Fraser & Dunlop (www.petersfraserdunlop.com) on behalf of the Estate of Flannery O’Connor.

  Dorothy Parker: ‘Sentiment’, ‘The Waltz’, copyright 1933, renewed © 1961 by Dorothy Parker, ‘A Telephone Call’, from The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker, edited by Marion Meade, copyright 1928, renewed © 1956 by Dorothy Parker; copyright © 1973, 2006 by The National Assoc. for the Advancement of Colored People. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.

  Colette Paul: ‘Kenny’ and ‘Renaissance’ by Colette Paul, © Colette Paul, 2004. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd., 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.

  Edith Pearlman: ‘Aunt Telephone’ from Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman © Edith Pearlman. Used by kind permission of Pushkin Press.

  Polly Samson: ‘The Man Across the River’ from Perfect Lives by Polly Samson. Published by Virago Press. Reproduced by permission of Little, Brown Book Group.

  Rachel Seiffert: ‘Field Study’ and ‘Reach’ taken from Field Study by Rachel Seiffert. Reprinted with permission from Toby Eady Associates Limited.

  Carol Shields: ‘Words’ and ‘Fragility’ from Collected Stories by Carol Shields. First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins in 2005. Copyright © 2005, Carol Shields. Reprinted by permission of the Estate of Carol Shields.

  Helen Simpson: ‘Sorry’, ‘Up at a Villa’ and ‘Ahead of the Pack’ taken from In-Flight Entertainment by Helen Simpson. Published by Jonathan Cape. Reprinted by permission of the Random House Group Limited.

  Ali Smith: ‘The Child’ taken from The First Person and Other Stories by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton 2008, Penguin Books 2009). Copyright © Ali Smith, 2008. Reproduced by permission of Penguin Books, Ltd.

  Muriel Spark: ‘The First Year of My Life’ and ‘The Snobs’ taken from The Complete Short Stories by Muriel Spark. Reprinted with permission from Canongate.

  Elizabeth Taylor: ‘The Blush’ from The Complete Short Stories by Elizabeth Taylor. Reprinted with permission from Little, Brown.

  Carrie Tiffany: ‘Before He Left the Family’ by Carrie Tiffany © Carrie Tiffany, 2012.

  Alice Walker: ‘The Lover’ and ‘How Did I Get Away With Killing One of the Biggest Lawyers in the State? It Was Easy.’ from The Complete Stories by Alice Walker. Reprinted with permission by Orion.

  Marina Warner: ‘The First Time’ by Marina Warner © Marina Warner, 1994. Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd., 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN.

  Jeanette Winterson: ‘Atlantic Crossing’ from The World and Other Places by Jeanette Winterson reprinted by permission of Peters Fraser & Dunlop (www.petersfraserdunlop.com) on behalf of Jeanette Winterson.

  Lucy Wood: ‘Diving Belles’ by Lucy Wood © Lucy Wood, 2012, The Diving Belles, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.