The Beauty of the Dead and Other Stories

Fiction & Literature, Short Stories
Cover of the book The Beauty of the Dead and Other Stories by H.E. Bates, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: H.E. Bates ISBN: 9781448215119
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: March 15, 2016
Imprint: Bloomsbury Reader Language: English
Author: H.E. Bates
ISBN: 9781448215119
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: March 15, 2016
Imprint: Bloomsbury Reader
Language: English

The Beauty of the Dead (Jonathan Cape, 1940) featuring fifteen stories, was released to critical acclaim. Pamela Hansford Johnson wrote in John O'London's Weekly that "all have that delicate luminosity by which visions are seen more clearly than in the bright sunlight."

'Old' is a snapshot of an elderly man – no longer appreciated or respected by his children and extended family – during a Sunday tea. He finds a companion in his seven-year-old grand-niece, making animal shapes out of biscuits and eventually falling into a "mesmeric peace" as she brushes his hair.

There is a glimpse of Bates's childhood experiences in 'Quartette', written through the eyes of a music director. The story accounts the attraction between two of the singers which the director worries is breaking up the group, yet on their last song he can feel "the passionate quality of their singing transcending the small hot room and the small bewildered minds". Bates had much personal knowledge of choirs and singing through his father, who was a choir director.

'The Bridge' is narrated by a twenty-two-year-old woman while she and her older sister vie for the attention of the same man. The Spectator praised it as "a masterly short story...courageously conceived… thick with symbolism, it is a triumphant display of control."

For the first time, this collection features the comic bonus story 'Obadiah'. After a tough, poverty-stricken childhood, Obadiah's scheme to make his fortune begins with a pig. He wanted neither children nor romance, but a partner in business, so when he meets a widow with similar values, he wins her over in what becomes a comic sketch of a bickering couple – a rare and brilliant piece of caricature in Bates's canon. Published in the New Clarion (1933), and not republished since.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Beauty of the Dead (Jonathan Cape, 1940) featuring fifteen stories, was released to critical acclaim. Pamela Hansford Johnson wrote in John O'London's Weekly that "all have that delicate luminosity by which visions are seen more clearly than in the bright sunlight."

'Old' is a snapshot of an elderly man – no longer appreciated or respected by his children and extended family – during a Sunday tea. He finds a companion in his seven-year-old grand-niece, making animal shapes out of biscuits and eventually falling into a "mesmeric peace" as she brushes his hair.

There is a glimpse of Bates's childhood experiences in 'Quartette', written through the eyes of a music director. The story accounts the attraction between two of the singers which the director worries is breaking up the group, yet on their last song he can feel "the passionate quality of their singing transcending the small hot room and the small bewildered minds". Bates had much personal knowledge of choirs and singing through his father, who was a choir director.

'The Bridge' is narrated by a twenty-two-year-old woman while she and her older sister vie for the attention of the same man. The Spectator praised it as "a masterly short story...courageously conceived… thick with symbolism, it is a triumphant display of control."

For the first time, this collection features the comic bonus story 'Obadiah'. After a tough, poverty-stricken childhood, Obadiah's scheme to make his fortune begins with a pig. He wanted neither children nor romance, but a partner in business, so when he meets a widow with similar values, he wins her over in what becomes a comic sketch of a bickering couple – a rare and brilliant piece of caricature in Bates's canon. Published in the New Clarion (1933), and not republished since.

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book Metamorphoses III by H.E. Bates
Cover of the book MasterClass in Mathematics Education by H.E. Bates
Cover of the book So Many Ways to Begin by H.E. Bates
Cover of the book Imperial Japanese Navy Battleships 1941-45 by H.E. Bates
Cover of the book American Volunteer Group ‘Flying Tigers’ Aces by H.E. Bates
Cover of the book Spring Comes to World's End by H.E. Bates
Cover of the book The Song Before It Is Sung by H.E. Bates
Cover of the book The Doublecross by H.E. Bates
Cover of the book Punk Style by H.E. Bates
Cover of the book The Complete Guide to Core Stability by H.E. Bates
Cover of the book T&T Clark Companion to Henri de Lubac by H.E. Bates
Cover of the book Camping by the Waterside by H.E. Bates
Cover of the book A Nice Cup of Tea by H.E. Bates
Cover of the book Adventures of a Reluctant Boating Wife by H.E. Bates
Cover of the book A History of the Netherlands by H.E. Bates
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy