'The title story shows a headmaster’s elegant wife suffering torments of jealousy when his gawky young cousin comes to live with them. Why is it that her sophistication seems unable to compete with Hester’s naivety? Elsewhere we see the mute agonies of a long marriage; the emotional deserts lurking in the English countryside; and old ruffian’s sense of suffocation in a genteel community for the blind; or the freshness and oddity of children’s perceptions. In this, her first collection of short stories, Elizabeth Taylor charts the territory she so triumphantly claimed as her own.' to 'The title story shows a headmaster’s elegant wife suffering torments of jealousy when his gawky young cousin comes to live with them. Why is it that her sophistication seems unable to compete with Hester’s naivety? Elsewhere we see the mute agonies of a long marriage; the emotional deserts lurking in the English countryside; and old ruffian’s sense of suffocation in a genteel community for the blind; or the freshness and oddity of children’s perceptions. In this, her first collection of short stories, Elizabeth Taylor charts the territory she so triumphantly claimed as her own.Contents: Hester Lilly ‘Taking Mother Out’ Spry Old Character First Death of Her Life Gravement Endommagé The Idea of Age Nods & Becks & Wreathèd Smiles A Sad Garden Shadows of the World The Light of Day Swan-moving A Red-letter Day The Beginning of a Story Oasis of Gaiety Plenty Good Fiesta Simone I Live in a World of Make-believe'