"A beautiful hardcover edition of the collected stories of "one of the best short story writers who ever lived"--with a new introduction by John Banville. Widely known for her extraordinary novels, including The Heat of the Day, The House in Paris, and The Death of the Heart, Elizabeth Bowen established herself in the front rank of twentieth-century writers equally through her short fiction. This collection includes seventy-nine magnificent stories written over the course of four decades, including such beloved classics as "Mysterious Kor," "The Demon Lover," "Summer Night," "Ivy Gripped the Steps," and "The Happy Autumn Fields." Whether placing her reader in a remote Irish castle or a seaside Italian villa or bomb-scarred London during the Blitz, Bowen was famous for scene setting of almost hallucinatory vividness, but her ability to evoke inner landscapes of spellbinding intensity was even more remarkable. Frustrated lovers, acutely observed children, and even vengeful ghosts inhabit her tales with an urgency and emotional complexity that make it clear that the drama of human consciousness was her central subject. These stories are enduring testimony to Bowen's reputation as a creator of finely chiseled narratives--rich in imagination, psychological insight, and craft--that transcend their time and place"--