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The Best British Short Stories #4
The Best British Short Stories 2014
‘There is no more carefully chosen yet eclectic anthology series in existence in Britain today’ —SUSAN HAIGH, The Short Review
Best British Short Stories invites you to judge a book by its cover – or more accurately, by its title. This new series aims to reprint the best short stories published in the previous calendar year by British writers, whether based in the UK or elsewhere. The editor’s brief is wide ranging, covering anthologies, collections, magazines, newspapers and web sites, looking for the best of the bunch to reprint all in one volume.
Featuring: Elizabeth Baines, David Constantine, Ailsa Cox, Claire Dean, Stuart Evers, Jonathan Gibbs, Jay Griffiths, David Grubb, M John Harrison, Vicki Jarrett, Richard Knight, Philip Langeskov, Siân Melangell Dafydd, Anna Metcalfe, Louise Palfreyman, Christopher Priest, Joanne Rush, Mick Scully, Joanna Walsh and Adam Wilmington.
Best British Short Stories invites you to judge a book by its cover – or more accurately, by its title. This new series aims to reprint the best short stories published in the previous calendar year by British writers, whether based in the UK or elsewhere. The editor’s brief is wide ranging, covering anthologies, collections, magazines, newspapers and web sites, looking for the best of the bunch to reprint all in one volume.
Featuring: Elizabeth Baines, David Constantine, Ailsa Cox, Claire Dean, Stuart Evers, Jonathan Gibbs, Jay Griffiths, David Grubb, M John Harrison, Vicki Jarrett, Richard Knight, Philip Langeskov, Siân Melangell Dafydd, Anna Metcalfe, Louise Palfreyman, Christopher Priest, Joanne Rush, Mick Scully, Joanna Walsh and Adam Wilmington.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
299 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2014
5 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Royle
179 books57 followersNicholas Royle is an English writer. He is the author of seven novels, two novellas and a short story collection. He has edited sixteen anthologies of short stories. A senior lecturer in creative writing at the Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University, he also runs Nightjar Press, publishing original short stories as signed, limited-edition chapbooks. He works as a fiction reviewer for The Independent and the Warwick Review and as an editor for Salt Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 22, 2021
While reading the short stories not necessarily in order I was a bit disappointed halfway through, thinking that I finally found a year in which the annual collection was not all that good...but then I was proven wrong! 😊 How happy to be wrong! 😊
I read a story that while reading it, I loved, and after reading it, I loved, and am quite happy a day later when writing this review. It included a story-within-a-story motif. It had an element of suspense that did not quit until the very end. And it was interesting throughout. What more could one want? The story was ‘Barcelona’ and the author is Philip Langeskov.
What was really weird in a good way was this: About a week ago I read a short story because a GR reviewer had read it and posted their review. It was “The End of the Party’ by Graham Greene. The review aroused my interest in the story, and also I have always been a fan of Graham Greene. Well, I liked it, and said in my review that I was going to get a book of short stories by Greene, ‘May We Borrow Your Husband? and Other Comedies of the Sexual Life’. So I got the book on Saturday afternoon. Two hours later I finished ‘Barcelona’ in which the story-within-the-story was one of the stories in ‘May We Borrow Your Husband? and Other Comedies of the Sexual Life’ (i.e., ‘The Overnight Bag’). Now how weird is that!!!!! 😜 🤪 🙂 🙃
After reading all of the stories in this collection I can say I am enthusiastic overall about the collection. ‘Barcelona’ was the best but there were several others that were quite good. So, this is a solid 3-star collection for me.
I have read 6 of the 10 available Best British Short Story collections…what am I going to do once I’ve exhausted all of them? ☹
I liked Royle’s Introduction to this collection. Among other nuggets in there, he had an interesting take on whether creative writing classes are worthwhile or not…whether you can actually teach creative writing, or whether instead, you either have the gift of telling a rootin’-tootin’ good story or you don’t. He comes down on the side that one can learn how to write better, and that seems to be a reasonable conclusion from somebody who has never written a short story in their life.
He also gave the readers the scoop on some small presses that publish short stories. One of them is Daunt Press, and it is owned by James Daunt, the managing director of Waterstones bookstores in the UK (see this link for an interesting article on Waterstones and Amazon and how Daunt has resurrected brick-and-mortar Waterstones in spite of Amazon: https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/... ). Daunt Press recently re-issued a book I just ordered yesterday – Barbara Comyns’ ‘A Touch of Mistletoe’. Also issued was the novella/short story I raved about above, ‘Barcelona’ by Philip Langeskov.
Here are the 20 short stories along with the author’s name, my ratings, and where it was originally published…
1. The Faber Book of Adultery – Jonathan Gibbs [3 stars]…originally published in Lighthouse 1
2. The Spiral Stairwell – Jay Griffiths [3.5 stars]…originally published in Beacons: Stories for Our Not So Distant Future (Oneworld Publications) edited by Gregory Norminton
3. The Incalculable Weight of Water – Richard Knight [3 stars]…originally published online at manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk
4. Ladies’ Day Vicki Jarrett [2.5 stars]…originally published in Gutter 9
5. Getting Out of There – M. John Harrison [4 stars]… originally broadcast by Nightjar Press
6. Hospital Field – Sian Malangell Dafydd [3 stars]…originally published in Beacons: Stories for Our Not So Distant Future (Oneworld Publications) edited by Gregory Norminton
7. Roof Space – David Grubb [2 stars]…originally published in Ambit 212
8. Number Three – Anne Metcalfe [3 stars]…originally published in Lighthouse 2
9. Ashton and Elaine – David Constantine [3.5 stars]…originally published in Red Room: New Short stories Inspired by the Brontës (Unthank Books) edited by AJ Ashworth
10. The Jewel of the Orient – Loise Palfreyman [1.5 stars]…originally published in The View from Here
11. What’s Going On Outside – Stuart Evers [2.5 stars]…originally published in The Reader 51
12. Tides or How Stories Do or Don’t Get Told – Elizabeth Baines [1 star]…originally published online The View From Here
13. The Sea in Birmingham – Mick Scully [4.5 stars]…originally published in The Sea in Birmingham (Tindal Street Fiction Group) edited by Gaynor Arnold and Julia Bell
14. Hope Fades for the Hostages – Ailsa Cox [1 star]…originally published in 3AM: Wonder, Paranoia and the Restless Night (Liverpool University Press/The Bluecoat) edited by Bryan Biggs
15. Unfinished Business – Christopher Priest [4 stars]…originally published in Crimewave 12:Hurts (TTA Press) edited by Andy Cox
16. Femme Maison – Joanna Walsh [2.5 stars]…originally published in Fractals: Short Stories (3:AM Press)
17. It – Adam Wilmington [2 stars]…originally published online at manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk
18. Glass, Bricks, Dust – Claire Dean [2.5 stars]…originally published under the name Claire Massey in New Fairy Tales: Essays and Stories (Unlocking Press) edited by John Patrick Pazdziora & Defne Çizakça
19. Guests – Joanne Rush [2 stars]…originally published in New Ghost Stories (The Fiction Desk) edited by Rob Redman
20. Barcelona – Philip Langeskov [5 stars]…originally published by Daunt Books
Reviews
• https://www.barefictionmagazine.co.uk...
• http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/w/index.p...
I read a story that while reading it, I loved, and after reading it, I loved, and am quite happy a day later when writing this review. It included a story-within-a-story motif. It had an element of suspense that did not quit until the very end. And it was interesting throughout. What more could one want? The story was ‘Barcelona’ and the author is Philip Langeskov.
What was really weird in a good way was this: About a week ago I read a short story because a GR reviewer had read it and posted their review. It was “The End of the Party’ by Graham Greene. The review aroused my interest in the story, and also I have always been a fan of Graham Greene. Well, I liked it, and said in my review that I was going to get a book of short stories by Greene, ‘May We Borrow Your Husband? and Other Comedies of the Sexual Life’. So I got the book on Saturday afternoon. Two hours later I finished ‘Barcelona’ in which the story-within-the-story was one of the stories in ‘May We Borrow Your Husband? and Other Comedies of the Sexual Life’ (i.e., ‘The Overnight Bag’). Now how weird is that!!!!! 😜 🤪 🙂 🙃
After reading all of the stories in this collection I can say I am enthusiastic overall about the collection. ‘Barcelona’ was the best but there were several others that were quite good. So, this is a solid 3-star collection for me.
I have read 6 of the 10 available Best British Short Story collections…what am I going to do once I’ve exhausted all of them? ☹
I liked Royle’s Introduction to this collection. Among other nuggets in there, he had an interesting take on whether creative writing classes are worthwhile or not…whether you can actually teach creative writing, or whether instead, you either have the gift of telling a rootin’-tootin’ good story or you don’t. He comes down on the side that one can learn how to write better, and that seems to be a reasonable conclusion from somebody who has never written a short story in their life.
He also gave the readers the scoop on some small presses that publish short stories. One of them is Daunt Press, and it is owned by James Daunt, the managing director of Waterstones bookstores in the UK (see this link for an interesting article on Waterstones and Amazon and how Daunt has resurrected brick-and-mortar Waterstones in spite of Amazon: https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/... ). Daunt Press recently re-issued a book I just ordered yesterday – Barbara Comyns’ ‘A Touch of Mistletoe’. Also issued was the novella/short story I raved about above, ‘Barcelona’ by Philip Langeskov.
Here are the 20 short stories along with the author’s name, my ratings, and where it was originally published…
1. The Faber Book of Adultery – Jonathan Gibbs [3 stars]…originally published in Lighthouse 1
2. The Spiral Stairwell – Jay Griffiths [3.5 stars]…originally published in Beacons: Stories for Our Not So Distant Future (Oneworld Publications) edited by Gregory Norminton
3. The Incalculable Weight of Water – Richard Knight [3 stars]…originally published online at manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk
4. Ladies’ Day Vicki Jarrett [2.5 stars]…originally published in Gutter 9
5. Getting Out of There – M. John Harrison [4 stars]… originally broadcast by Nightjar Press
6. Hospital Field – Sian Malangell Dafydd [3 stars]…originally published in Beacons: Stories for Our Not So Distant Future (Oneworld Publications) edited by Gregory Norminton
7. Roof Space – David Grubb [2 stars]…originally published in Ambit 212
8. Number Three – Anne Metcalfe [3 stars]…originally published in Lighthouse 2
9. Ashton and Elaine – David Constantine [3.5 stars]…originally published in Red Room: New Short stories Inspired by the Brontës (Unthank Books) edited by AJ Ashworth
10. The Jewel of the Orient – Loise Palfreyman [1.5 stars]…originally published in The View from Here
11. What’s Going On Outside – Stuart Evers [2.5 stars]…originally published in The Reader 51
12. Tides or How Stories Do or Don’t Get Told – Elizabeth Baines [1 star]…originally published online The View From Here
13. The Sea in Birmingham – Mick Scully [4.5 stars]…originally published in The Sea in Birmingham (Tindal Street Fiction Group) edited by Gaynor Arnold and Julia Bell
14. Hope Fades for the Hostages – Ailsa Cox [1 star]…originally published in 3AM: Wonder, Paranoia and the Restless Night (Liverpool University Press/The Bluecoat) edited by Bryan Biggs
15. Unfinished Business – Christopher Priest [4 stars]…originally published in Crimewave 12:Hurts (TTA Press) edited by Andy Cox
16. Femme Maison – Joanna Walsh [2.5 stars]…originally published in Fractals: Short Stories (3:AM Press)
17. It – Adam Wilmington [2 stars]…originally published online at manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk
18. Glass, Bricks, Dust – Claire Dean [2.5 stars]…originally published under the name Claire Massey in New Fairy Tales: Essays and Stories (Unlocking Press) edited by John Patrick Pazdziora & Defne Çizakça
19. Guests – Joanne Rush [2 stars]…originally published in New Ghost Stories (The Fiction Desk) edited by Rob Redman
20. Barcelona – Philip Langeskov [5 stars]…originally published by Daunt Books
Reviews
• https://www.barefictionmagazine.co.uk...
• http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/w/index.p...
October 14, 2015
well next year's BBSS will still include Scottish writers then.
I will be biased when reviewing, because it is dedicated to Joel Lane, a friend and (great) writer who died last year; and it contains a story from another friend, Mick Scully, the title story of our writing group's anthology The Sea in Birmingham.
Mick’s story is complex, told from a variety of points of view, and takes place in a nursing home amongst staff and residents, some of whom suffer from dementia and other ailments, so reliability is always under question, and it turns into a detective story at the end with a visiting police officer. Quite a feat to keep all these balls up in the air and deliver a smooth, engaging story but Mick accomplishes it with aplomb.
As would be expected of an anthology like this, I had mixed reactions to the other stories here. A couple weren’t my thing, a couple I didn’t ‘get’, but most I thoroughly enjoyed. Some for a single memorable image like the woman who unzips herself to let out light and fish in Louise Palfreyman’s piece (another Brunmmie btw), or the vividness of the description in The Spiral Stairwell. Claire Dean’s ‘Glass, Bricks, Dust’ and David Grubb’s ‘Roof Space’ both delighted in their convincing children’s perspectives. Also on the theme of childhood/growing up David Constantine shone as usual with his tale of a foundling discovered in a market place. ‘Number Three’ about Miss Coral who looks after a rude and unappreciative English teacher on his visit to the school where she works in China, was a sophisticated, well written piece, as was Evers’ ‘What’s Going on Outside’ about Russian immigrants which used repetition to portray their hand-to-mouth existence. I was caught up in M J Harrison’s protagonist’s story of moving back to Bournemouth(?) and meeting up with an old flame (he knew her as a 13 year old Beatrice!). The intriguing story moves from realism to something beyond. A similar thing happens in Joanne Rush’s Guests, set in Cheltenham where the heroine’s partner works for GCHQ and has to go off to Bosnia, a simple love story then becomes something else as ghosts move in to her flat. Christopher Priest’s ‘Unfinished Business’ and Richard Knight’s ‘The Incalculable Weight of water’ (which owes something to Carver’s ‘So Much Water so Close to Home’) were more straightforward, but still had mysteries to unravel. It’s all rounded off by Philip Langeskov’s nervy, long piece about a couple’s trip to Barcelona to rekindle their romance. Another fine collection.
I will be biased when reviewing, because it is dedicated to Joel Lane, a friend and (great) writer who died last year; and it contains a story from another friend, Mick Scully, the title story of our writing group's anthology The Sea in Birmingham.
Mick’s story is complex, told from a variety of points of view, and takes place in a nursing home amongst staff and residents, some of whom suffer from dementia and other ailments, so reliability is always under question, and it turns into a detective story at the end with a visiting police officer. Quite a feat to keep all these balls up in the air and deliver a smooth, engaging story but Mick accomplishes it with aplomb.
As would be expected of an anthology like this, I had mixed reactions to the other stories here. A couple weren’t my thing, a couple I didn’t ‘get’, but most I thoroughly enjoyed. Some for a single memorable image like the woman who unzips herself to let out light and fish in Louise Palfreyman’s piece (another Brunmmie btw), or the vividness of the description in The Spiral Stairwell. Claire Dean’s ‘Glass, Bricks, Dust’ and David Grubb’s ‘Roof Space’ both delighted in their convincing children’s perspectives. Also on the theme of childhood/growing up David Constantine shone as usual with his tale of a foundling discovered in a market place. ‘Number Three’ about Miss Coral who looks after a rude and unappreciative English teacher on his visit to the school where she works in China, was a sophisticated, well written piece, as was Evers’ ‘What’s Going on Outside’ about Russian immigrants which used repetition to portray their hand-to-mouth existence. I was caught up in M J Harrison’s protagonist’s story of moving back to Bournemouth(?) and meeting up with an old flame (he knew her as a 13 year old Beatrice!). The intriguing story moves from realism to something beyond. A similar thing happens in Joanne Rush’s Guests, set in Cheltenham where the heroine’s partner works for GCHQ and has to go off to Bosnia, a simple love story then becomes something else as ghosts move in to her flat. Christopher Priest’s ‘Unfinished Business’ and Richard Knight’s ‘The Incalculable Weight of water’ (which owes something to Carver’s ‘So Much Water so Close to Home’) were more straightforward, but still had mysteries to unravel. It’s all rounded off by Philip Langeskov’s nervy, long piece about a couple’s trip to Barcelona to rekindle their romance. Another fine collection.
April 5, 2020
An interesting selection of short stories. As always with anthologies some of them I loved and some I disliked and a couple I struggled to finish. Most had unusual main characters and settings and keen observation of scenery, feelings, weather etc.
There seemed to be a concentration on the odd and the marginalised and from that I learned what odd weather, difficult life experiences, unusual work etc are like and how it feels to meet them.
I felt that several of them were longer than they needed to be, but readers who like a lot of description would probably not agree with this.
There seemed to be a concentration on the odd and the marginalised and from that I learned what odd weather, difficult life experiences, unusual work etc are like and how it feels to meet them.
I felt that several of them were longer than they needed to be, but readers who like a lot of description would probably not agree with this.
February 5, 2020
Evocative and contemplative collection. Two or three are really excellent. The downside is that most of the stories occupy a very dark place. Themes include death, mental and physical illness, failing relationships, vengeance, regret, loneliness, abandonment, war crimes. Telling, perhaps, that the one overwhelmingly positive story is the last and best ('Barcelona').
So, good writing - absolutely. "Good read"? At times.
So, good writing - absolutely. "Good read"? At times.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2019
Some stories I quite liked (the Ashton one) and some left me feeling like there was no point. But maybe that was the point? Anyway, picked it up to get back into reading short stories as preparation for a writing workshop and it definitely helped me get back into reading critically.
Read
January 10, 2021Thus ends another significant pilgrimage for me through a BBSS anthology, this one full of Shadowy Thirds and Droguli.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.
April 14, 2015
I'd enjoy reading it again. I possibly skipped one story.
August 20, 2016
'Glass Bricks and Dust' the only memorable short story by far in this collection.
July 23, 2018
Very short and very catchy.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews