The Cambridge Companion to the English Short Story

This Companion deals with the origins and development of the short story “written in the English language outside of north America” (p. 7). Fourteen chapters cover the Contexts, Periods and Genres of the medium. All of them are extensively footnoted. An introduction by the Editor (who contributes a chapter), a Guide to Further Reading and a Chronology complete the contents.

Part I, Contexts, covers the contemporary scene (and problems) of short story publishing, in Britain today, in Paul March Russell’s contribution. Other chapters deal with social realism, the (British) Empire in “short fiction” (the phrase is used frequently in the...