From Anthony Trollope, Charles Dickens, and Thomas Hardy, through Rudyard Kipling, H.G. Wells, D.H. Lawrence, and Virginia Woolf, right up to Graham Greene, J.G. Ballard, Angela Carter, Ian McEwan, and many others, The Oxford Book of English Short Stories encompasses comedy and tragedy, farce and delicacy, elegance and the grotesque. Edited by noted novelist A. S. Byatt, the thirty-seven stories gathered here range from social realism to surreal fantasy, from rural poverty to war-blitzed London, from tales of the supernatural to precise delineations of the mundane, all unified by Byatts demanding criteria that the works be both startling and satisfying, and if possible make the hairs on the neck prickle with excitement, aesthetic or narrative. For short story lovers and anyone unable to resist the enchantments of the English imagination, The Oxford Book of English Short Stories offers a wide array of unforgettable pleasures, now reissued with a fresh, contemporary feel.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
"Byatt has cast her net widely and well.... Her long introduction--which might well stand as a capsule history of the subject--sensibly emphasizes 'the evocation of the concrete' as a common feature of English short fiction, while offering superb concise assessments of classic writers like Dickens, Trollope, Hardy, and Wells.... One of Oxford's best, and another feather in Byatt's richly decorated cap."--Kirkus Reviews
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This book is amongst the most entertaining books I have ever read. It contains a wide range of subjects and styles ranging from P. G. Wodehouse's "The Reverent Wooing Of Archibald" to "A Widow's Quilt" by Sylvia Townsend Warner. The book alows the reader to choose his or her story according to mood or prefernence and thus makes for a very good thing. It is the wide range of storie and authors in the book that really make it so great. A. S. Byatt has selected the choicest morcels of litterary brilliance and added them all into this great collection. Thoughly worth a read or two.
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By Miseri57
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Who's your favourite book writer, granddad?" That's the question my 8yr old granddaughter asked me when she'd hinted that she was going to get me a book for my birthday. I'm really glad that my reply was somewhat `vague' in that I remember telling her that I liked so many authors, classics and modern, and that I would ideally like to read `something from everybody'. It seems my granddaughter took me literally and presented the Oxford Book of Short Stories to me on my birthday - and what a treat it's turned out to be. Wonderful, 37 stories from the 19th & 20th centuries' authors ranging from Dickens, Woolf, Woodhouse, Wells, Lawrence, Kipling, Greene and many others, some of which I'm reading for the first time.
The stories themselves are a wonderful selection, Byatt should be commended on her choice; Byatt tells us that her "... only criterion was that [the] stories ... should be startling and satisfying, and if possible make the hairs on the neck prickle with excitement aesthetic narrative". I think she's managed this.
As a rule I read a few stories each night before going to bed which resulted in about 2 weeks of very, very enjoyable reading - I fully recommend this anthology to anyone and everyone, and it's hard for me to imagine anyone getting the same level of enjoyment for the price paid for the book.
The stories themselves are a wonderful selection, Byatt should be commended on her choice; Byatt tells us that her "... only criterion was that [the] stories ... should be startling and satisfying, and if possible make the hairs on the neck prickle with excitement aesthetic narrative". I think she's managed this.
As a rule I read a few stories each night before going to bed which resulted in about 2 weeks of very, very enjoyable reading - I fully recommend this anthology to anyone and everyone, and it's hard for me to imagine anyone getting the same level of enjoyment for the price paid for the book.
By J. Purnell
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Great introduction to English literature. Mainly 19th and 20th century though there is at least one from the 17th.
Reading this one can understand why its often said that literature is one of England's strong points.
My favorite so far is the PG Woodhouse....
Reading this one can understand why its often said that literature is one of England's strong points.
My favorite so far is the PG Woodhouse....
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
A customer
I thought some of the choices were strange, I relished the Dickens ghost story but it turned out not to be one of his finest hours. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Yasemin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent selection of stories
This is a good book to pick up and read on holiday or at bedtime. All stories are short, some very short. All are good. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jazzer
2.0 out of 5 stars
Oxford Book of English Stories
Sorry but could not tell anyone to buy this, the first story I think is the best and then it just seems to wander on and on, but this is only my view, others at my book club liked... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Book Club Girl
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Collection
A wonderful collection from lots of varying authors, and a nice size aswell. My mum was very pleased with it!
Published 16 months ago by Grace R
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Anthologies
- Books > Fiction > Classics
- Books > Fiction > Contemporary Fiction
- Books > Fiction > Short Stories
- Books > Fiction > Women Writers & Fiction
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
