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The original U.S. blurb says it well, '. . .But some readers consider her short stories the best vehicle for her impeccable craftsmanship, her peerless ability to sketch in a few deft lines a man or woman in a brief moment of destiny - tragic, comic, absurd or moving. These fourteen new stories are once again evidence of her wit and irony, her grace and poise.' A Spirit Rises comprises fourteen stories: Youth and the Lady ; The Locum Tenens ; The Fifth of November ; A Question of Disposal ; Barnby Robinson ; In a Shaken House ; The Old Nun ; Randolph ; On Living for Others ; A Dressmaker ; A Spirit Rises ; The Snow Guest ; During a Winter Night ; A Work of Art . Many of the stories first appeared in The New Yorker which makes the dedication to William Maxwell all the more appropriate. A Spirit Rises is one of four collections of Sylvia Townsend Warner's short stories that Faber Finds are reissuing: Winter in the Air ; A Spirit Rises ; A Stranger with a Bag ; Scenes of Childhood . 'Miss Townsend Warner, as always, comes up to scratch with the sheer caress of her style. The stories in A Spirit Rises , private, utterly leisured, are like charades played by angels - albeit rather sardonic ones, and in a slightly unreal hothouse. The choice and rhythm of her words are not to be wolfed; be patient, keep the mind free to wander on a quickening phrase or a squint of humour.' David Hughes, Sunday Times
About the author
Sylvia Townsend Warner
