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David Beard has been drawn to short fiction throughout his very literary life.
With Dora's Curse and Other Stories he pulls together a collection of over
a dozen of his favourites.
In the cover story, a tribute to James Joyce set in Paris, Dora, a devoted
mother, places a curse upon Jack, her profligate husband. In "The Story
That Couldn't Be Told" the narrator finds himself drawn to memories and
to stories: and a story within a story within the story itself. In a small town in
Australia, "The Three Sisters"-Larry, known as Laura, Max known as
Maxine and Virgil known as Virgie-use their budding talent to make an
outrageous impression on the locals. Meanwhile in Toronto at the
"Crossroads" of two major downtown streets, sisters Faith and Honor have
fallen for the same handsome man.
Dora's Curse and Other Stories is a delightful potpourri of tales, long and
short, some humourous, some sad, all touching on the foibles and fantasies
of its collection of colourful characters.
About the author
David Beard was born in rural Australia in 1923 and moved to Sydney at the age of 14 to begin work. He arrived in London in 1949. From there it was on to work in the British Embassy in Washington and at the United Nations in New York.
Arriving in Toronto in the 1950s the creative arts moved front and center in his career. He acted on stage and in film, played piano for silent films and opened Cine Books, a bookstore specializing in books and periodicals about film.
After a short stint in San Francisco he returned to Australia in the 1990s, where he continues to enjoy movies, books and writing.
