Eclectic entertaining ... almost all British if not human life is here Boyd Tonkin IndependentMind stretching heart breaking beautifully crafted fiction Claire Harman Evening StandardShe would tear the house down shatter the windows slash the furniture flood the baths fire the curtains Hilarious exuberant surreal subtle tender brutal spectacular and above all unexpected this extraordinary selection celebrates the British short story from the 1920s to the present day. From Angela Carter to V. S. Pritchett Elizabeth Taylor to J. G. Ballard Ali Smith to a host of little known works from magazines and periodicals and including tales of air raids phone sex snobbery modern day slavery grief desire the familiar and the strange here is the short story in all its limitless possibilities. Edited and with an introduction by Philip Hensher the award winning novelist critic and journalist.