Revenge

by Kate Saunders

Stories by Louisa May Alcott, Lisa St. Aubin de Teran, Winifred Holtby, Candia McWilliam, Elizabeth Gaskell, Shena Mackay, Mary Flanagan, Mary E. Braddon, Lucy Ellmann, Charlotte Riddell, Joanna Briscoe, Anne Enright, Muriel Spark, Ellen Gilchrist, Emma Tennant, Kate Saunders, Alice Walker, Maureen Freely, Elizabeth Bowen, Ruth Rendell.

Genres: Fiction, Anthologies, Short Stories

Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Kate Saunders (born 1960) was an English author, actress, and journalist. The daughter of the early public relations advocate Basil Saunders and his journalist wife Betty (née Smith), Saunders has worked for newspapers and magazines in the UK, including The Sunday Times, Sunday Express, Daily Telegraph, She, and Cosmopolitan.

She has also been a regular contributor to radio and television, with appearances on the Radio 4 programs Woman's Hour, Start the Week, and Kaleidoscope. She was, with Sandi Toksvig, a guest on the first episode of the long-running news quiz program Have I Got News For You.

Saunders has also written multiple books for children and for adults.

Reviews

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the hands of women, revenge is an art form - or so sums up the dust jacket for this collection of female-penned tales. Based on the lengths some will go to attain personal vengeance, Kate Saunders mixes hits and misses in thsi compendium. A woman scorned spurns her old lover's advances - with tragic results - in Louisa May Alcott's contribution. A bordello turns on its madame, only to find themselves left with nothing in Lisa St. Aubin de Teran's tale. A mother smothers her son's image across the globe, leading Herbert to kill his mom in Winifred Holtby's sort yet satisfying piece. Candia McWilliam introduces us to a candy executive who tastes "Melted Dreams" after a night out on the town. Elizabeth Gaskell pens a story of generational violence in bringing down the Griffiths and their legacy. Two killers get a dish of cold revenge from Shena Mackay's Indian widow; Mary Flanagan's Nora spites her overbearing family with her version of a wedding dress. A clerk must choose between love and hate in Mary Braddon's "Samuel Lowgood's Revenge," while a single woman uses letters to check on her mother's old flame in Lucy Ellmann's "Pass the Parcel." The search for a missing girl shakes a community in Charlotte Riddell's addition, a lover's affair leads to a handbag swipe in Anne Enright's story, and the ghost of a girl murdered in a haystack brings mental anguish to her killer in Muriel Spark's tale. Ellen Gilchrist pens a female Southern protagonist who just wants to pit jump with her brothers. Emma Tennant spins a yarn of sexual tension and murder. Kate Saunders has a widowed sister use old notes to taunt her murderous sibling into madness, while Alica Walker sends her wronged protagonist down the path of voodoo to gain revenge. A Mexican woman bleeds her cheating husband dry with a mariachi band rental in Maureen Freely's contribution, a man deals with his wife's dresses in Elizabth Bowen's tale, and a cheating husband gets packed with his things in Ruth Rendell's closing offering. The various styles of writing lead to a mixed bag of good and bad; some of the shorter, more modern tales shine and glimmer when placed against the chaptered, longer stories of older times. Overall, a great reminder of how getting even can be both horrific and satisfying.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories of very mixed quality. The best ones are by Muriel Spark ("The Portobello Road") and Elizabeth Bowen ("Making Arrangements"), although this is far from Bowen's best. A lot of the late 20th century stories were pretty dreadful, and Louisa May Alcott's "Pauline's Passion and Punishment" is one of the worst pieces of writing I've ever read, proving that crap can come from any century. I'm not a short story person to begin with. This will be going in the "dump" pile.

[Madeleine McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hit and miss collection. Moreover, my edition was in tiny print, which was a constant annoyance. I would have preferred a thicker paperback and a larger font size. I enjoyed The Wedding Dress, by Mary Flanagan, Pass the Parcel by Lucy Ellmann, Why Herbert Killed His Mother, by Windifred Holtby, and The Spider's Web, by Lisa St Aubin de Teran. However, it beggars belief that Louisa May Alcott's overwritten and overlong tale was included.