The first products of Joyce's maturity, these stories look sideways to the tender realism of Chekhov and forward to Joyce's later work "Portrait of the Artist". In the most celebrated tale, "The Dead", the author constructs the first of his poetic monologues.

A brilliant and much admired novelist, Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973) surpassed herself as a writer of short fiction: 'the supreme genius of her time', writes John Banville in his introduction;

Emma Wodehouse has led a simple life, but during the course of this, she at last reaps her share of the world's vexations. In this comedy of manners, the heroine learns to come to terms with the reality of other people, and with her own erring nature.

A story of the Galactic Empire, crumbling after twelve thousand years of rule.

The contents have been intriguingly divided into eight narrative threads that influenced and informed O'Connor's oeuvre.

Uses the narrative of a mock travel writer to explore exotic and imaginary locations. This book mounts a scathing attack on the morals, politics and learning of the 18th century, culminating in possibly the greatest satire ever written: the story of the Houyhnhnms.

In The Guermantes Way Proust's narrator recalls his initiation into the dazzling world of Parisian high society. Looking back over his time in the glamorous salons of the aristocracy, he satirises this shallow world and his own youthful infatuation with it.

Scott Moncrieff's translation to take into account the new definitive French editions of A la recherche du temps perdu (the final volume of these new editions was published by the Bibliotheque de la Pleiade in 1989).