A Companion to the British and Irish Short Story

A Companion to the British and Irish Short Story chronicles the development of this important literary form in Britain and Ireland from 1880 to the present. Part I covers the years up to 1945 and examines the short fiction that emerged around such themes as imperial adventures, responses to war, and detective and crime stories. Authors covered in this period include Robert Louis Stevenson, James Joyce, Liam O Flaherty, and Elizabeth Bowen. Part II reflects the range of themes, and richer diversity of authorship, that developed during the postwar years, including feminist writings, gay and lesbian fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and short stories by Asian and Afro–Caribbean writers. Doris Lessing, Angela Carter, Hanif Kureishi, J.G. Ballard, and Ben Okri, are just some of the authors discussed in these chapters.

Incorporating a wide range of approaches, A Companion to the British and Irish Short Story captures the astonishing range of modern short fiction produced in Britain and Ireland from the end of the nineteenth century.

Notes on Contributors.

Preface.

Part I: 1880 1945.

Introduction.

1. The British and Irish Short Story to 1945 (Cheryl Alexander Malcolm and David Malcolm, University of Gda sk, Poland).

Topics and Genres.

2. The Story of Colonial Adventure (Mariadele Boccardi, University of West of England, Bristol).

3. Responses to War: 1914 1918 and 1939 1945 (Richard Greaves, Open University).

4. Irish Short Fiction: 1880 1945 (Patrick Lonergan, National University of Ireland, Galway).

5. The Detective and Crime Story: 1880 1945 (Jopi Nyman, University of Joensuu, Finland).

6. The British and Irish Ghost Story and Tale of the Supernatural: 1880 1945 (Becky DiBiasio, Assumption College, Worcester, Massachusetts).

7. Finding a Voice: Women Writing the Short Story (to 1945) (Sabine Coelsch–Foisner, University of Salzburg).

8. Rudyard Kipling s Art of the Short Story (David Malcolm, University of Gda sk, Poland).

Reading Individual Authors and Texts.

9. Robert Louis Stevenson: The Bottle Imp, The Beach of Falesá, and Markheim (Michael Meyer, University of Koblenz–Landau, Germany).

10. Thomas Hardy: Wessex Tales (David Grylls, Kellogg College, Oxford).

11. Joseph Conrad: The Secret Sharer and An Outpost of Progress (Christopher Thomas Cairney, De Anza College, California).

12. The Short Stories of Hector Hugh Munro ( Saki ) (Sandie Byrne, formerly Balliol College, Oxford).

13. Paralysis Re–considered: James Joyce s Dubliners (Richard Greaves, Open University).

14. H.G. Wells s Short Stories: The Country of the Blind and The Door in the Wall (Sabine Coelsch–Foisner, University of Salzburg).

15. D.H. Lawrence s Short Stories: The Horse Dealer s Daughter and The Rocking Horse Winner (Kathryn Miles, Unity College, Maine).

16. Virginia Woolf: Kew Gardens and The Legacy (Stef Craps, Ghent University).

17. Katherine Mansfield: The Garden Party and Marriage à la Mode (Jennifer E. Dunn, University of Oxford).

18. Frank O Connor: Guests of the Nation and My Oedipus Complex (Greg Winston, Husson College).

19. The Short Stories of Liam O Flaherty (Shawn O Hare, Carson–Newman College, Jefferson City, Tennessee).

20. W. Somerset Maugham s Ashenden Stories (David Malcolm, University of Gda sk, Poland).

21. Elizabeth Bowen: The Demon Lover and Mysterious Kôr (Sarah Dillon, University of St Andrews).

Part II: 1945 the Present.

Introduction.

22. The British and Irish Short Story: 1945 Present (Cheryl Alexander Malcolm and David Malcolm, University of Gda sk, Poland).

Topics and Genres.

23. New Identities: The Irish Short Story since 1945 (Greg Winston, Husson College).

24. Redefining Englishness: British Short Fiction from 1945 to the Present (James M. Lang, Assumption College, Worcester, Massachusetts).

25. Scottish Short Stories (post 1945) (Gavin Miller, Manchester Metropolitan University).

26. Hybrid Voices and Visions: The Short Stories of E.A. Markham, Ben Okri, Salman Rushdie, Hanif Kureishi, Patricia Duncker, and Jackie Kay (Michael Parker, University of Central Lancashire).

27. The Anglo–Jewish Short Story since the Holocaust (Cheryl Alexander Malcolm, University of Gda sk, Poland).

28. Feminist Voices: Women s Short Fiction after 1945 (Michael Meyer, University of Koblenz–Landau, Germany).

29. British Gay and Lesbian Short Stories (Brett Josef Grubisic, University of British Columbia).

30. Science Fiction and Fantasy after 1945: Beyond Pulp Fiction (Mitchell R. Lewis, Elmira College, New York).

31. Experimental Short Fiction in Britain since 1945 (Günther Jarfe, Passau University).

Reading Individual Authors and Texts.

32. The Short Stories of Julian Maclaren–Ross (David Malcolm, University of Gda sk, Poland).

33. Alan Sillitoe: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Michael Parker, University of Central Lancashire).

34. The Short Stories of Elizabeth Taylor (Robert Ellis Hosmer, Jr, Smith College).

35. The Short Fiction of V.S. Pritchett (Andrzej G siorek, University of Birmingham).

36. Edna O Brien: A Rose in the Heart of New York (Sinéad Mooney, National University of Ireland, Galway).

37. Doris Lessing: African Stories (Don Adams, Florida Atlantic University).

38. The Desire for Clarity: Seán O Faoláin s Lovers of the Lake (Paul Delaney, Trinity College, Dublin).

39. The Short Stories of Muriel Spark (Robert Ellis Hosmer, Jr, Smith College).

40. Jean Rhys: Let Them Call It Jazz (Cheryl Alexander Malcolm, University of Gda sk, Poland).

41. George Mackay Brown: Witch, Master Halcrow, Priest, A Time to Keep, and The Tarn and the Rosary (Gavin Miller, Manchester Metropolitan University).

42. William Trevor: Uncertain Grounds for Assured Art (John Kenny, National University of Ireland, Galway).

43. John McGahern: Nightlines (Stanley van der Ziel, University College, Dublin).

44. The Clinking of an Identity Disk: Bernard MacLaverty s Walking the Dog (Jerzy Jarniewicz, Universities of ód and Warsaw).

45. Angela Carter s The Bloody Chamber: A World Transformed by Imagination and Desire – Adventures in Anarcho–Surrealism (Madelena Gonzalez, Avignon University).

46. J.G. Ballard: Psychopathology, Apocalypse, and the Media Landscape (Mitchell R. Lewis, Elmira College, New York).

47. The Short Stories of Benjamin Okri (Wolfgang Görtschacher, University of Salzburg).

48. James Kelman: Greyhound for Breakfast (Peter Clandfield, Nipissing University, North Bay, Ontario).

49. Hanif Kureishi: Love in a Blue Time (Patrick Lonergan, National University of Ireland, Galway).

Index.

Cheryl Alexander Malcolm is Associate Professor in the Department of American Literature and Culture, English Institute, University of Gdansk, Poland

David Malcolm is Professor and Chair, Department of Literary Studies, English Institute, University of Gdansk, Poland

"Companion to the British and Irish Short Story is an instructive and engaging guide, covering a broad range of interest in fiction from schoolwork to academic research." ( Reference Reviews, April 2009)