Ups and Downs

by Stacy Aumonier

Stacy Aumonier was a British writer and stage performer, most highly regarded for his short stories. Between 1913 and 1928, he wrote more than 85 stories, 6 novels, a volume of character studies, and a volume of 15 essays. The Nobel Prize winner (and Forsyte Saga author) John Galsworthy described Aumonier as "one of the best short-story writers of all time" and predicted that, through the best of his stories, he would "outlive all the writers of his day." James Hilton (author of Goodbye, Mr Chips and Lost Horizon) said of "I think his very best works ought to be included in any anthology of the best short stories ever written." Asked to choose "My Favourite Short Story" for the March 1939 edition of Good Housekeeping, James Hilton chose a story by Aumonier, "The Octave of Jealousy", which the magazine described as a "bitterly brilliant tale." In 1915, Aumonier published a short story "The Friends" which was well received (and was subsequently voted one of the 15 best stories of the year by the readers of a Boston Magazine, Transcript). In 1917, he was called up for service in World War I at age 40, serving first as a private in the Army Pay Corps, and then working as a draughtsman in the Ministry of National Service. The Army medical board in 1916 had put down his occupation as "actor and writer." By the end of the following year, he had four books published—two novels and two books of short stories—and his occupation is recorded just as "author." In the mid 1920s, Aumonier was diagnosed with tuberculosis. In the last few years of his life, he would spend long spells in various sanatoria, some better than others. In a letter to his friend, Rebecca West, written shortly before his death, he described the extraordinarily uncomfortable conditions in a sanatorium in Norfolk in the winter of 1927, where the dampness was so severe that a newspaper left beside the bed would feel "sodden to the touch in the morning."

Genres: Ethnicity

674 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aumonier will not be to everyone's taste. But if like me you appreciate that certain tone of voice in Bierce, Maupassant, Saki, Collier, Dahl, Waugh (and Maugham at his most acidic), Aumonier will be worth a look.

His stories are not brief by today's standards (or at least by my standards). Slowly accumulating setting, context, and characters through concrete action, they take their time. 

[Florence🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 4 out of 5]

i get why he’s called one of the greatest short story writers of britain

[Jeff Hobbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Stories already rated in Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty and The Love-a-Duck are not included here.)

One Sunday morning --2
Overheard --3
The friends --2
Juxtapositions --3
The old lady with the two umbrellas --2
The kidnapped "general" --3
The fall --2
The happy man --3
The song of praise --3
The spoil-sport --3
Arpeggio --2
Burney's laugh --2
One law for the rich --2
Two of those women --3
The Grayles --2
Armistice --3

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5, some good stories, some ok, some weird march music between the stories.