Showing results by author "Katherine Mansfield" in All Categories

One of Katherine Mansfield's finest short stories, "Bliss" introduces us to Bertha, who experiences a sense of rapture as she reflects on her life. On her walk home one day, she is overwhelmed by a sense of bliss and contentment. However, her joy later turns to disappointment as she discovers her husband is having an affair with her new friend Pearl.

Katherine Mansfield's heartbreaking story of playground bullying. The Kelvey children are excluded from the schoolyard crowd because they come from a poor family with more than a hint of disreputableness about them. When the Burnell children are given a doll's house and invite their school friends two by two to see it, only the Kelveys are excluded. Until one day, Kezia Burnell decides to invite the Kelveys in to see it....

Eight brilliant short stories from the best female short story writer of her age. Katherine Mansfield's wit, pathos and descriptive genius combine in this collection to take the listener from a wry smile one minute to the verge of tears the next.

Oh, how delightful it is to fall in love for the first time! How exciting to go to your first dance when you are a girl of 18! But life can also be hard and cruel, if you are young and inexperienced and travelling alone across Europe . . . or if you are a child from the wrong social class . . . or a singer without work and the rent to be paid. Set in Europe and New Zealand, these nine stories by Katherine Mansfield dig deep beneath the appearances of life to show us the causes of human happiness and despair.

Over 24 of the best humorous stories ever written, including: "The Inconsiderate Waiter", by J. M. Barrie; "Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger", by Saki; "Curried Cow", by Ambrose Bierce; "Cannibalism in the Cars", by Mark Twain; "A Love Knot", by W. W. Jacobs; "A Bottomless Grave", by Ambrose Bierce; "Biffin on the Bassoon", by Harry Graham; "Esme", by Saki; "Germans at Meat", by Katherine Mansfield; and "Adrian", by Saki.

This is a story from the Bliss & Other Stories collection.

What does it mean to escape when love, obligation, and habit quietly close in? In “The Escape” by Katherine Mansfield, a quiet domestic moment becomes the stage for an unspoken emotional reckoning between a husband and wife. As they prepare for an evening out, small gestures, clipped remarks, and inner reflections reveal the tensions beneath their long-standing marriage. What appears outwardly calm is charged with resentment, fatigue, and the desire—felt by both—for freedom from roles that no longer bring comfort.

What if a single day could strip away every comforting illusion? In “Revelations” by Katherine Mansfield, a woman’s carefully constructed sense of self is quietly undone as she moves through a series of encounters that force her to confront truths she would rather avoid. Set against the routines of social obligation and polite interaction, the story follows an emotional shift that unfolds not through dramatic action, but through subtle perception and inward reckoning.

The Garden Party and Other Stories was published in 1922. A collection of fifteen short stories, it explores themes including life and death, gender and family roles, relationships and duty.

The Dove’s Nest and Other Stories is a collection of both finished and unfinished short stories written by Katherine Mansfield. The collection was published posthumously, not long after Mansfield’s death in 1923, by her husband, John Middleton Murry.

Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) was a prominent modernist writer of short fiction and a close associate of D. H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf. 'New Dresses' is the story of two sisters whose mother and grandmother have made them new dresses. One sister, Rose, is a model child in her mother's eyes - pretty, tidy and clean. The other, Helen, is always in trouble. Her mother wonders how on earth Helen will manage to keep her new dress clean and neat....

A young English woman travels alone for the first time, eager to begin a new position abroad and convinced of her independence. Armed with good intentions and polite trust, she navigates foreign streets, unfamiliar customs, and her own expectations of kindness and respect. As the journey unfolds, small encounters and seemingly harmless gestures begin to carry an undercurrent of unease. The governess’s idealism is quietly tested, and her innocence leaves her vulnerable to misunderstandings she is not yet equipped to recognize.

Two young siblings—Sun and Moon—eagerly await a grand evening party held by the adults in their home, convinced it will be the most exciting event of their lives. As preparations unfold and the house fills with lights, music, and unfamiliar guests, the children drift between anticipation and confusion. Their innocent expectations slowly collide with the rules and indifference of the adult world, reshaping how they see the celebration—and each other.

Two former lovers meet again in a quiet drawing room, where politeness masks longing, hesitation, and unspoken desire. Every pause, every gesture, every carefully chosen word becomes charged with meaning as memory and emotion press against the fragile calm of the present moment. Beneath the surface of casual conversation, old feelings stir—regret, attraction, and the ache of what was never fully said.

You step into the fragile inner life of Ada Moss, a woman clinging to dignity, memory, and fading hopes as her world quietly closes in around her. Once surrounded by admiration and applause, Ada now drifts through a city that feels increasingly cold and indifferent, where familiar faces blur and kindness becomes uncertain. As she moves from place to place, moments of pride, desperation, and self-deception flicker like scenes in a fading film.

You follow a respected, self-assured teacher whose orderly world begins to fracture beneath the surface. As Mr. Peacock moves through the routines of his day—his classroom, his colleagues, his home—small disturbances ripple outward, revealing tensions he would rather ignore. Beneath his cultivated manners and professional authority lies a growing sense of unease and emotional isolation.

In Feuille d’Album by Katherine Mansfield, a shy and socially awkward young man observes the woman who lives across from him, constructing an entire emotional world from brief glances and silent longing. His affection grows not through conversation or action, but through careful watching and inward reflection.

In A Dill Pickle by Katherine Mansfield, a chance meeting in a café brings together two former lovers whose lives have taken very different paths. As they sit across from one another, polite conversation gives way to memory, regret, and subtle emotional power shifts. What begins as nostalgia slowly reveals deeper truths about ego, control, and the quiet wounds left by emotional neglect. Through fragmented dialogue and unspoken tension, Mansfield exposes how love can be distorted by self-absorption, and how one voice can dominate while another fades into silence.

What if a single gust of wind could stir up every memory you’ve tried to outrun? In The Wind Blows by Katherine Mansfield, you follow Matilda, a young girl swept through her day by a restless force she can’t quite name.

What if the brightest charm hid the darkest truths beneath it? In Je ne Parle pas Français by Katherine Mansfield, you step into the mind of Raoul Duquette, a cynical Parisian narrator whose sharp observations, moral contradictions, and unsettling humor reveal far more about himself than about the people he judges.