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The Penguin Book of the British Short Story

Penguin Shop: 3 Clothbound Classics for £33

'A bold anthology ... alive with provocations and insights' John Carey, Sunday Times 
 
'The Boy-scouts mistook my signal, and have killed the postman. I've had very little practice in this sort of thing, you see' 
 
The British short story tradition is probably the richest, most varied and historically extensive in the world. This new anthology celebrates the full diversity and energy of its writers, subjects and tones, from the story's origins with Defoe, Swift and Fielding, to the 'golden age' of the fin de siècle and Edwardian period, ending with the First World War. Including the most famous authors as well as some magnificent, little-known stories never republished since their first appearance in magazines and periodicals, these stories are by turns topical and playful, ghostly and theatrical, rumbustious and sublime. 
 
Edited with an introduction by Philip Hensher

From Daniel Defoe to John Buchan

Hensher's anthology is bigger, better and broader in several senses than anything else currently available

Almost 100 potent doses of the form which editor Philip Hensher claims very plausibly to be "the richest, most varied and most historically extensive national tradition anywhere in the world"... Hensher has spent a couple of years searching libraries and magazine archives and comes out staggering under a weight of treasures

Like one of the legion of cantankerous, eccentric hosts we meet across this generous terrain, Hensher knows how to lay a grand spread...so enjoy the feast

Anyone reading this collection just for pleasure should start at the end of the second volume and work backwards...it would quickly bring you to four outstanding stories by women...each of these, though quickly over, leaves a lasting mark in the mind

Big and clever...three cheers then, for this chunky two-volume anthology, edited by Philip Hensher with imagination and a dash of mischievous wit

Charted a very personal view of the form's development from the early 18th century to the present day'

It's been a big year for anthologies and few come bigger than The Penguin Book of the British Short Story. Philip Hensher's introduction is spiky and thought-provoking and Volume I: From Daniel Defoe to John Buchan and Volume II: From P.G. Wodehouse to Zadie Smith (Penguin Classic, £25 each) offer readers the chance to enjoy the varieties and mutations of British stories across four centuries.

In two handsomely designed volumes ... you have to admire Hensher's championing of unfamiliar names alongside established greats

Philip Hensher is the editor of The Penguin Book of the British Short Story (two volumes) and of The Penguin Book of the Contemporary British Short Story. His most recent novel is A Small Revolution in Germany.

This is the first anthology capacious enough to celebrate the full diversity and energy of its writers, subjects and tones. The most famous authors are here, and many others, including some magnificent stories never republished since their first appearance in magazines and periodicals. The Penguin Book of the British Short Story has a permanent authority, and will be reached for year in and year out.This volume takes the story from its origins with Defoe, Swift and Fielding to the 'golden age' of the fin de siècle and Edwardian period.

The Penguin Book of the British Short Story: 1

From P.G. Wodehouse to Zadie Smith

This is the first anthology capacious enough to celebrate the full diversity and energy of its writers, subjects and tones. The most famous authors are here, and many others, including some magnificent stories never republished since their first appearance in magazines and periodicals. The Penguin Book of the British Short Story has a permanent authority, and will be reached for year in and year out. This volume takes the story from the 1920s to the present day.

The Penguin Book of the British Short Story

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