There are thirty stories, spanning nearly a century (from 1896?1984). Twelve are taken from the twelve volumes of stories we have published over the last few years; nine were previously published in our quarterly (later biannually) magazine during the last decade; and nine have been selected especially for this collection. They are presented in the order they were written. A quarter are by North American women writers.In dull brown / Evelyn Sharp (1896) -- The bedquilt / Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1906) -- Her first ball / Katherine Mansfield (1921) -- The other wife / Colette (1924) -- The casualty list / Winifred Holtby (1932) -- Thunder shower / Malachi Whitaker (1933) -- The exile / Joanna Cannan (1939) -- Safety zone / Dorothy van Doren (1939) -- After tea / Dorothy Whipple (1941) -- Monsieur Rose / Irène Nèmirovsky (1941) -- Going home / Sally Benson (1942) -- Frowning Caryatid / Lettice Cooper (1942) -- Miss Anstruther's letters / Rose Macaulay (1942) -- The house at hove / Diana Gardner (1944) -- Year of decision / Mollie Panter-Downes (1944) -- We have to sit opposite / Ethel Wilson (1945) -- The little willow / Frances Towers (1947) -- Monkey-barges / Emma Smith (1947) -- The blessing that must be earned / Freda Aykroyd (1947) -- The professor's daughter / Margaret Bonham (1948) -- The prisoner / Elizabeth Berridge (1948) -- Beside the still waters / Mollie-Panter Downes (1948) -- To open a door / Kathleen Warren (1951) -- The proof / Mary Rickwood (1954) -- The green heart / Jane McClure (1955) -- No laughing matter / Diana Athill (1961) -- Sunday morning / Dorothy Whipple (1961) -- For good / Alice Adams (1977) -- Accidents / Carol Shields (1983) -- Gilbert / Rosamunde Pilcher (1984).