Synopses & Reviews
The complete collection of short fiction from a literary stylist who captured the nuances of life in the American South of the early twentieth century, The Collected Stories of Caroline Gordon is firmly rooted in the traditions, the social habits, and the land itself. As Robert Penn Warren writes in his introduction, Caroline Gordons world lies in southeast Kentucky . . . [She displays] a disciplined style as unpretentious and clear as running water, but shot through with glints of wit, humor, pity, and poetry. [She had] the rare gift of the teller of the tale.”
Caroline Gordon was the author of nine novels, two short story collections, and two works of criticism. She was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a winner of the O. Henry Award. Her Collected Stories was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.
The complete collection of short fiction from a literary stylist who captured the nuances of life in the American South of the early twentieth century, The Collected Stories of Caroline Gordon is firmly rooted in the traditions, the social habits, and the land itself. As Robert Penn Warren writes in his introduction, Caroline Gordons world lies in southeast Kentucky . . . [She displays] a disciplined style as unpretentious and clear as running water, but shot through with glints of wit, humor, pity, and poetry. [She had] the rare gift of the teller of the tale.” Extraordinary vigor . . . Caroline Gordon writes with uncommon probity and assurance.”Anne Tyler, The New York Times Book Review
The lessons of Henry James and [Ford Madox] Ford are applied to Southerners of all classes in stories shot through with a brilliant solidity of specification. A wonderful book.”The Washington Post Book World
Finishing these stories, one is like a gratified traveler who remembers vividly where he's been and longs to return. Caroline Gordon stands in the tradition of our most prized southern writers. She preserves our heritage.”Newsday
[Caroline Gordon] is great on getting things there so concretely that they cant possibly escape . . . That is real masterly doing, and nobody does it any better than Caroline. You walk through her stories like you are walking in a complete real world. And watch how the meaning comes from the things themselves and not from her imposing anything.”Flannery OConnor, The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery OConnor
In this collection one can see how a story speaks for its creators sense of literary timelessness . . . [These stories] are records of the struggles of the human spirit to survive.”The Christian Science Monitor
Table of ContentsIntroduction by Robert Penn WarrenIThe Petrified WomanThe Burning EyesTom RiversOld RedThe EnemiesOne More TimeThe Long DayTo Thy Chamber Window, SweetThe Last Day in the FieldThe PresenceOne Against Thebes IIHear the Nightingale SingThe Forest of the SouthThe Ice HouseThe Captive IIIThe Brilliant LeavesHer Quaint HonorMr. PowersAll Lovers Love the SpringThe Waterfall IVA Walk with the AccuserThe Olive GardenEmmanuele! Emmanuele! Notes and Sources
Review
Praise for Caroline Gordon and The Collected Stories
“[Caroline Gordon] is great on getting things there so concretely that they cant possibly escape . . . That is real masterly doing, and nobody does it any better than Caroline. You walk through her stories like you are walking in a complete real world. And watch how the meaning comes from the things themselves and not from her imposing anything.”—Flannery OConnor, The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery OConnor
“The lessons of Henry James and [Ford Madox] Ford are applied to Southerners of all classes in stories shot through with a brilliant ‘solidity of specification. A wonderful book.”—The Washington Post Book World
“In this collection one can see how a story speaks for its creators sense of literary timelessness . . . [These stories] are records of the struggles of the human spirit to survive.”—The Christian Science Monitor
“Extraordinary vigor . . . Caroline Gordon writes with uncommon probity and assurance.”—Anne Tyler, The New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
The complete collection of short fiction from a literary stylist who captured the nuances of life in the American South of the early twentieth century, The Collected Stories of Caroline Gordon is firmly rooted in the traditions, the social habits, and the land itself. As Robert Penn Warren writes in his introduction, “Caroline Gordons world lies in southeast Kentucky . . . [She displays] a disciplined style as unpretentious and clear as running water, but shot through with glints of wit, humor, pity, and poetry. [She had] the rare gift of the teller of the tale.”
About the Author
Caroline Gordon (1895-1981) was the author of nine novels, two short story collections, and two works of criticism. She was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a winner of the O. Henry Award. Her Collected Stories was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.