From the Cradle to the Grave

'Fiction is like a spider's web, attached ever so slightly perhaps, but still attached to life at all four corners,' wrote Virginia Woolf, the famous English novelist.

This collection of short stories gives us portraits of people at intersections on the spider's web - fateful decisions of young people; victories, defeats, or revelations in the battlefield of marriage; the agonies of parents; the chance to start new relationships in middle age. The authors are all masters of the short-story genre, leading us effortlessly into imaginary worlds which feel as familiar as reality. Which of us does not recognize Angela, the youthful idealist in Waugh's story, or the scheming Mrs Bixby, or Maugham's smug Colonel?

The stories by Dahl and Maugham give us contrasting viewpoints on unsatisfactory marriages. Then we have two vivid portrayals of the effects of shock, through the very different styles of Sargeson and Carver. In the Bates and Hill stories we share the small miseries and cautious hopes of Miss Treadwell and Esme Fanshaw as they tremble on the brink of new relationships. Pictures of ordinary lives, caught for ever in the spider's web.

We begin with the pleasant tinkle of teaspoons on delicate porcelain teacups, under the sharp, sardonic eye of Saki...

Acknowledgements

The editors and publishers are grateful for permission to use the following copyright material:

'Same Time, Same Place' from The Wild Cherry Tree by H.E. Bates, published by Michael Joseph Ltd. Reprinted by kind permission of the Estate of H.E. Bates.

The Bath' from What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

'Mrs Bixby and the Colonel's Coat' from Kiss Kiss by Roald Dahl, published by Michael Joseph Ltd and Penguin Books Ltd. Reprinted by permission of Murray Pollinger.

'A Bit of Singing and Dancing' by Susan Hill from her collection entitled A Bit of Singing and Dancing. Reprinted by permission of Richard Scott Simon Ltd.

'The Colonel's Lady' from Collected Short Stories Volume 2 by W. Somerset Maugham. Copyright © by the Royal Literary Fund. Reprinted by permission of William Heinemann Ltd.

'They Gave her a Rise' by Frank Sargeson from The Stories of Frank Sargeson. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd and the Frank Sargeson Memorial Trust.

'Mr Loveday's Little Outing' from Work Suspended and other stories by Evelyn Waugh. Reprinted with the permission of the Peters Fraser & Dunlop Group Ltd.

From the Cradle to the Grave

Short Stories

Edited by

Clare West

Series Advisers H.G. Widdowson Jennifer Bassett

Oxford University Press

oxford

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Great Clarendon Street, Oxford 0x2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dares Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in

Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam

oxford and oxford English are registered trade marks of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries

This edition © Oxford University Press 1993 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 1993 16 18 20 19 17 15

No unauthorized photocopying 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, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate

reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the ELT Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer

Any websites referred to in this publication are in the public domain and their addresses are provided by Oxford University Press for information only. Oxford University Press disclaims any responsibility for the content