The Collected Stories of Katherine Mansfield

In New Zealand–born writer Katherine Mansfield's brief yet blazing literary career, she became a pillar of early-twentieth-century modernism, and left behind her own dazzling body of work. The Collected Stories of Katherine Mansfield—which includes her two major collections of short stories, Bliss and The Garden Party, in their entirety—presents, in one volume, the oeuvre of a singular talent.

In these stories, Mansfield explores themes of class and social dynamics, sexuality, and family and domestic dramas, all captured in crystalline, slyly humorous vignettes. In "Miss Brill," a young woman dons her finest fur to stroll through the stately Jardins Publiques, only to be cut down by a stray remark. In "A Cup of Tea," a rich woman is moved to help someone less fortunate than herself, and finds that her charity comes at a cost.

Mansfield (who married twice and was romantically involved with both men and women) often turns her discerning eye to romantic relationships: in "A Dill Pickle," former lovers meet by chance; in "Bliss," the exuberant hostess of a dinner party discovers a shocking truth about her own relationships.