Oxford Paperbacks 

The years from 1930 to 1955 marked a high point in the fortunes of the English short story. Inevitably World War II left its mark on many of the stories Derek Hudson has collected in this suberb volume, but, he argues in the introduction, that "the dominating impression in these English stories...is of humour--not necessarily in the comic sense...but in the sense...of a humorous perspective of life."
The volume includes stories by such renowned writers as Somerset Maugham, Virginia Woolf, and Evelyn Waugh. Stories by Elizabeth Bowen, Frances Towers, Clemence Dane, Rosamond Lehmann, and A.L. Barker demonstrate that women writers have found the short story form increasingly congenial. C.S. Forester and Graham Greene bring their power of narrative to tragic themes, while Eric Linklater asserts his claim on poetic fantasy. The volume also contains characteristic stories by H.E. Bates, V.S. Pritchett, William Plomer, John Moore, Christopher Sykes, William Sansom, Fred Urquhart, and Nigel Kneale. 

Descriptif : a collection of 19 short stories written between 1930 and 1955
Résumé :
Sommaire :
W. Somerset Maugham: the kite
Virginia Woolf: the duchess and the jeweller
Frances Towers: the little willow
C.S. Forester: the hostage
Eric Linklater: Sealskin trousers
V.S. Pritchett : the voice
William Plomer: ever such a nice boy
Evelyn Waugh: on guard
Graham Greene: the basement room
H.E. Bates : the woman who had imagination
John Moore: Local boy makes good
Christopher Sykes: The sacred and the profane
William Sansom: The vertical ladder
Fred Urquhart: Man about the house
A.L. Barker: Mr. Minnenick
Nigel Kneale: The putting away of uncle Quagging
Elizabeth Bowen: Maria
Clemence Dane : The dearly beloved of Benjamin Cobb
Rosamond Lehmann: A dream of winter