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Mrs. Darcy and the Blue-Eyed Stranger: New and Selected Stories
Smith slips effortlessly into the voices of her funny, smarter-than-they-look characters in her latest collection (after News of the Spirit), containing a handful of new works among some old favorites. In Toastmaster, a family's dinner outing is parsed from the point of view of a brainy 11-year-old who sees through the motivations of his flaky mother and demonstrates his powers of observation when a group of joking, drunken men enter the restaurant. Similarly, Big Girl allows an overweight wife who has sacrificed everything for her awful husband to tell her story while attaining the ultimate emancipation.
Each tale is beautifully honed and captures in subtle detail and gentle irony the essential humanity of characters who might initially strike the reader as superficial or unsympathetic. House Tour, for instance, finds a cynical wife and mother contemplating her possible alcoholism when her house is overrun by an endearing group of similarly life-worn but irrepressible women who mistake her house for one on their home tour. Other tales about indomitable wives and mothers will be familiar to Smith's fans and round out this thoroughly enjoyable collection.
Each tale is beautifully honed and captures in subtle detail and gentle irony the essential humanity of characters who might initially strike the reader as superficial or unsympathetic. House Tour, for instance, finds a cynical wife and mother contemplating her possible alcoholism when her house is overrun by an endearing group of similarly life-worn but irrepressible women who mistake her house for one on their home tour. Other tales about indomitable wives and mothers will be familiar to Smith's fans and round out this thoroughly enjoyable collection.
353 pages, Hardcover
First published March 23, 2010
67 people are currently reading
797 people want to read
About the author
Lee Smith
43 books985 followersGrowing up in the Appalachian mountains of southwestern Virginia, nine-year-old Lee Smith was already writing--and selling, for a nickel apiece--stories about her neighbors in the coal boomtown of Grundy and the nearby isolated "hollers." Since 1968, she has published eleven novels, as well as three collections of short stories, and has received many writing awards.
The sense of place infusing her novels reveals her insight into and empathy for the people and culture of Appalachia. Lee Smith was born in 1944 in Grundy, Virginia, a small coal-mining town in the Blue Ridge Mountains, not 10 miles from the Kentucky border. The Smith home sat on Main Street, and the Levisa River ran just behind it. Her mother, Virginia, was a college graduate who had come to Grundy to teach school.
Her father, Ernest, a native of the area, operated a dime store. And it was in that store that Smith's training as a writer began. Through a peephole in the ceiling of the store, Smith would watch and listen to the shoppers, paying close attention to the details of how they talked and dressed and what they said.
"I didn't know any writers," Smith says, "[but] I grew up in the midst of people just talking and talking and talking and telling these stories. My Uncle Vern, who was in the legislature, was a famous storyteller, as were others, including my dad. It was very local. I mean, my mother could make a story out of anything; she'd go to the grocery store and come home with a story."
Smith describes herself as a "deeply weird" child. She was an insatiable reader. When she was 9 or 10, she wrote her first story, about Adlai Stevenson and Jane Russell heading out west together to become Mormons--and embodying the very same themes, Smith says, that concern her even today. "You know, religion and flight, staying in one place or not staying, containment or flight--and religion." From Lee Smith's official website.
The sense of place infusing her novels reveals her insight into and empathy for the people and culture of Appalachia. Lee Smith was born in 1944 in Grundy, Virginia, a small coal-mining town in the Blue Ridge Mountains, not 10 miles from the Kentucky border. The Smith home sat on Main Street, and the Levisa River ran just behind it. Her mother, Virginia, was a college graduate who had come to Grundy to teach school.
Her father, Ernest, a native of the area, operated a dime store. And it was in that store that Smith's training as a writer began. Through a peephole in the ceiling of the store, Smith would watch and listen to the shoppers, paying close attention to the details of how they talked and dressed and what they said.
"I didn't know any writers," Smith says, "[but] I grew up in the midst of people just talking and talking and talking and telling these stories. My Uncle Vern, who was in the legislature, was a famous storyteller, as were others, including my dad. It was very local. I mean, my mother could make a story out of anything; she'd go to the grocery store and come home with a story."
Smith describes herself as a "deeply weird" child. She was an insatiable reader. When she was 9 or 10, she wrote her first story, about Adlai Stevenson and Jane Russell heading out west together to become Mormons--and embodying the very same themes, Smith says, that concern her even today. "You know, religion and flight, staying in one place or not staying, containment or flight--and religion." From Lee Smith's official website.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews
June 17, 2017
It took me a long time to finish this book because I refused to read the stories back-to-back. In a collection of short stories like this, written by one author, it can be tempting to just read one after the other and then then before you know it, you've finished them all and don't really remember much. Kind of like eating Oreos out of the box.
It's hard for me to articulate what it is exactly that I loved so much about these stories, aside of course from the impeccable voices and excellent writing, but I'll try. The characters are all small town women with seemingly small town lives, but once they get talking you see how big it all really is. But, at the same time, small. Often these characters go into deep detail about their past adventures which include things that we'd lament over (or at least I would lament over) and perhaps give us ulcers or a stay at a nice safe hospital for a while. And these events are just ticked off with the same cadence and weight as other things. It's all just life after all, these things happen to everyone, just in the course of living.
A sampling of the sort of thing I'm talking about:
Paul had been drunk, of course. Drunk, or he might not have lived at all, somebody said later, but I don't know whether that was true or not. I think it is something people say after wrecks, whenever there's been drinking. He had been driving back to W&L from Randolph-Macon, where he was dating a girl. This girl wrote Mama a long, emotional letter on pink stationary with a burgundy monogram. Paul was taken by ambulance from the small hospital in Lexington, Virginia, to the University of Virginia hospital in Charlottesville, one of the best hospitals in the world. This is what everybody told me. Mama went up there immediately. Her younger sister, my aunt Liddie, came to stay with us while she was gone.
I leave the book feeling empowered like I'd just read a self-help book (which I would never do). Her characters are inspirational. They encourage you to just do whatever it is you've been wanting to do and then don't sweat it because if it doesn't work out how you'd hoped, you can just write it all down and entertain people with the tale someday.
It's hard for me to articulate what it is exactly that I loved so much about these stories, aside of course from the impeccable voices and excellent writing, but I'll try. The characters are all small town women with seemingly small town lives, but once they get talking you see how big it all really is. But, at the same time, small. Often these characters go into deep detail about their past adventures which include things that we'd lament over (or at least I would lament over) and perhaps give us ulcers or a stay at a nice safe hospital for a while. And these events are just ticked off with the same cadence and weight as other things. It's all just life after all, these things happen to everyone, just in the course of living.
A sampling of the sort of thing I'm talking about:
Paul had been drunk, of course. Drunk, or he might not have lived at all, somebody said later, but I don't know whether that was true or not. I think it is something people say after wrecks, whenever there's been drinking. He had been driving back to W&L from Randolph-Macon, where he was dating a girl. This girl wrote Mama a long, emotional letter on pink stationary with a burgundy monogram. Paul was taken by ambulance from the small hospital in Lexington, Virginia, to the University of Virginia hospital in Charlottesville, one of the best hospitals in the world. This is what everybody told me. Mama went up there immediately. Her younger sister, my aunt Liddie, came to stay with us while she was gone.
I leave the book feeling empowered like I'd just read a self-help book (which I would never do). Her characters are inspirational. They encourage you to just do whatever it is you've been wanting to do and then don't sweat it because if it doesn't work out how you'd hoped, you can just write it all down and entertain people with the tale someday.
January 31, 2020
Each short story was masterfully told with the characters leaping off the pages and into the readers mind. All stories centered on women: some teenagers, some seniors, some widowed, divorced, or mothers. All of them overcame some adversity or weathered some storm and got to a place where they could take it in stride and start the next chapter of their lives. Some are meek, some are vivacious, some are spunky; all are courageous in their own way. Each story was unique, wonderful, and hard to put down. A wonderful short story collection that I will definitely return to again!
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May 28, 2010Lee Smith speaks "southern." The voice she gives to her characters rings true to this region's rich culture and customs. Her wonderful collection of new and selected short stories feature mostly women protagonists coping with love, loss, and life's major turning points. Smith is skilled at infusing her writing with a gentle drollness that will make you smile, and her sensibility is rich with emotional content, but without sentimentality or cloying sweetness. Family and home feature greatly in these stories that leave the reader with satisfying resolutions or intriguing possibilites. (Barbara L., Reader's Services)
March 15, 2014
I loved this collection of short stories from Lee Smith. I am such a fan of hers anyway, but this collection focused on Southern women all types. Good reading if you are in the mood for some short reads.
July 29, 2024
This was NOT, as I had first suspected, a fanfic of Pride and Prejudice persuasion. Instead, a collection of short stories in a decidedly dry tone that lent itself to humor even though most of the stories had a dark or sad edge to them. Reminded me of freshman year American Lit class readings.
September 5, 2011
Since 1968, Lee Smith has been a significant Southern author of short stories and novels compared by some to Flannery O'Connor, Eurora Welty, and Carson McCullers. Somehow I have managed to miss her influence until hearing a recent provocative interview on NPR and purchasing her current volume of short stories, both old and new. These 14 tales might be compared to hors d'oeuvres...tasty, spicy, and not unpalatable, but they do not a meal make. Even the vegetarians among us may ask: "Where's the meat?" The stories certainly have well-crafted characters and intelligible plot lines, but even the best, such as "House Tour" and "Between the Lines," offer little more than a pleasant respite in the waiting room for your physcian to appear or the mechanic to complete your service check. Indeed, such writing serves a useful purpose and Smith is good at what she does, but I find these "new 'slice of life' stream of consciousness style of short stories...unsatisfying" to echo the words of an esteemed Goodreads reviewer Judith
In truth, Smith should be compared to her Southern contemporary Bobbie Ann Mason, another storyteller who has produced many short stories and a few novels. Mason also deals with modern life among the less than fortunate in an often rustic and difficult environment. In truth, however, such a comparison is specious since Mason not only offers characters for whom we care deeply, but provides pithy dialogue and (shockingly) a denouement (satisfying or not). However, my review is not of this accomplished author...and Ms. Smith, you are no Bobbie Ann Mason!
It is not that we hunger for more from Smith since some of her stories are up to 50 pages long. However, what they provide in length is not matched in substance; one has a feeling of indifference to her topics and characters. Once the page is turned, the memory fades and we keep waiting for that perpetually late doctor or that promised service repair or maybe thinking of what to prepare for dinner.
Those requiring more substantial literary meals may wish to look elsewhere, such as Mason. Afterall, "the proof is in the pudding."
In truth, Smith should be compared to her Southern contemporary Bobbie Ann Mason, another storyteller who has produced many short stories and a few novels. Mason also deals with modern life among the less than fortunate in an often rustic and difficult environment. In truth, however, such a comparison is specious since Mason not only offers characters for whom we care deeply, but provides pithy dialogue and (shockingly) a denouement (satisfying or not). However, my review is not of this accomplished author...and Ms. Smith, you are no Bobbie Ann Mason!
It is not that we hunger for more from Smith since some of her stories are up to 50 pages long. However, what they provide in length is not matched in substance; one has a feeling of indifference to her topics and characters. Once the page is turned, the memory fades and we keep waiting for that perpetually late doctor or that promised service repair or maybe thinking of what to prepare for dinner.
Those requiring more substantial literary meals may wish to look elsewhere, such as Mason. Afterall, "the proof is in the pudding."
October 24, 2015
Lee Smith truly knows how to weave a tale. There is no denying that she is a masterful storyteller. I honestly could read her stories all day. MRS. DARCY AND THE BLUE-EYED STRANGER is a book of short stories by Lee Smith, so know going in that it is NOT a novel. I, for one, really love the short story. I think that the short story is a lost art in the world today, so it is refreshing to read a book full of wonderful short stories! I can't possibly pick one to say it's my favorite. There are great qualities to each and every story. Smith's stories focus mostly on women as the main characters and/or as the narrators of her stories. Many women will more than likely relate quite easily to the women in these stories.
My only complaint (please don't be mad, Lee!) is the portrayal of people of faith (religion) in Lee Smith's stories. I guess her stories are more realistic than I am aware of and it's that part that disappoints me--not Lee Smith's storytelling. As a woman of faith myself, I don't like to see people "play" at religion or to take it lightly or to show it in any way negative. It's probably my own personal perspective that makes me see many of the religiously focused stories in a negative light rather than it actually being that way.
I know that I live in a fantasy world in so many ways. I've joked with my students when we talk about such things that I want to live in my fantasy world and they should let me live here. I LIKE believing that all the young women I know are "perfect" little virgin angels--and the young men, too. That they don't do drugs, drink alcohol, or disrespect their parents. I am fully aware of my fantasy world being exactly THAT--a Fantasy.
Just let me live in it, ok?!
My only complaint (please don't be mad, Lee!) is the portrayal of people of faith (religion) in Lee Smith's stories. I guess her stories are more realistic than I am aware of and it's that part that disappoints me--not Lee Smith's storytelling. As a woman of faith myself, I don't like to see people "play" at religion or to take it lightly or to show it in any way negative. It's probably my own personal perspective that makes me see many of the religiously focused stories in a negative light rather than it actually being that way.
I know that I live in a fantasy world in so many ways. I've joked with my students when we talk about such things that I want to live in my fantasy world and they should let me live here. I LIKE believing that all the young women I know are "perfect" little virgin angels--and the young men, too. That they don't do drugs, drink alcohol, or disrespect their parents. I am fully aware of my fantasy world being exactly THAT--a Fantasy.
Just let me live in it, ok?!
August 16, 2012
The stories in this book contain a mix of colorful characters ranging from ages 8 to 80. The common thread I found, other than their southern roots, was how they all dealt with a grim, depressing situation in a strong and uplifting way. My favorites were “Toastmaster” where a young boy gains self-confidence and popularity after developing a stand-up comedy routine, and “The Southern Cross” where the mistress of a married man, accompanying him on a boat trip, realizes his true colors and jumps ship.
“Tongues of Fire” was one of the longest short stories and also had a very intriguing character … a teenage girl who searches for spirituality and believes that denying herself of simple pleasures and practicing incessant prayer will make everything wrong turn out alright. She was also a reader whose favorite books: Little Women, The Secret Garden, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn are all-time favorites of mine as well. The story abruptly ends when her innocence dies leaving me wondering what happened next and wanting more.
“Tongues of Fire” was one of the longest short stories and also had a very intriguing character … a teenage girl who searches for spirituality and believes that denying herself of simple pleasures and practicing incessant prayer will make everything wrong turn out alright. She was also a reader whose favorite books: Little Women, The Secret Garden, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn are all-time favorites of mine as well. The story abruptly ends when her innocence dies leaving me wondering what happened next and wanting more.
July 2, 2015
Lee Smith's collection of short stories is a wonderful read. While some appear to approach a collection of stories with disdain, I find such perfect for those situations where one can perhaps steal a few minutes to read, and therefore, keep works like Lee Smith's all over the house -- a collection of short stories beside the bed, in a sitting room, the upstairs tv room, and of course, one of the most popular reading rooms in the house (the toilette).
What struck me, once I finished Smith's, is that the characters, largely female, are in various stages of life and life's discoveries. What I enjoy most about her writing, aside from the female voice, is the style in which she writes -- short, simple sentences say it all in a mere few words.
Well-written, enjoyable, and thought-provoking. Among my favorites: "Toastmaster" and "Bob, the Dog."
What struck me, once I finished Smith's, is that the characters, largely female, are in various stages of life and life's discoveries. What I enjoy most about her writing, aside from the female voice, is the style in which she writes -- short, simple sentences say it all in a mere few words.
Well-written, enjoyable, and thought-provoking. Among my favorites: "Toastmaster" and "Bob, the Dog."
June 13, 2010
Actually, three point five stars. I cannot remember how old I was when I first saw To Kill a Mockingbird on television but I was young enough to be scared but old enough to fall in love with the story and not too many years later fall crazy in love with the book. All of which lead to a love southern literature. This collection of short stories was a pleasant ramble. Each story had a distinct voice, distinct southern voice, and some of them I enjoyed much more than others. They were by turns heartbreaking and hilarious, thought provoking, entertaining, or perhaps even appalling, each worth reading for the turns of phrase, setting or sassy attitude that some how makes them "southern." Nice way to squeeze in some fiction reading here and there during a busy week.
August 28, 2010
This is a collection of short stories--seven new stories and seven culled from three earlier short story collections by Lee Smith. These are stories to be savored and I took my time reading this book. I tried to limit myself to one story a day so that I could think about and appreciate each story before dipping into the next. The stories capture individuals at various stages of life from a young boy to the Mrs. Darcy of the title who is trying to adjust to the recent loss of her husband in her own individual way. And her way, by the by, is driving her three daughters absolutely crazy. All of the stories are set in the South and are populated by those eccentric, quirky characters that fill the pages of southern literature and make us love it so.
February 13, 2011
I'm so surprised how much I liked this book (I thought it might be chick-lit but it wasn't). I was moved to check the book out from the library believing (for some reason I can't defend) that the title story involved what happened with Elizabeth Darcy (nee Bennett) after she married Mr. Darcy. This turned out not to be the case, but even with my mistake, this book of short stories was engaging. The characters are interesting, the narratives are snappy and modern and occasionally lyrical. Each story stands on its own (not linked) and each one was its own little world.
Surprised by how much I liked this.
This is not chick lit.
Not one story about shoes. Or shopping. Or any of the other things I usually associate with the genre.
Yay!
Surprised by how much I liked this.
This is not chick lit.
Not one story about shoes. Or shopping. Or any of the other things I usually associate with the genre.
Yay!
May 27, 2010
This book had some (2 or 3) really interesting stories, but the rest seemed to follow the same recipe. Aging woman faces divorce/separation/affair, tries to redifine herself and her life in the light of the change in her life, comes to some resolution, but is still left questioning.
My favorite stories were House Tour, Big Girl, and Toast Master.
My favorite stories were House Tour, Big Girl, and Toast Master.
May 27, 2010
Typically I like Lee Smith's writing, but found that I couldn't identify with many of the characters in the stories and the stories almost implausible. I liked the story, Happy Memories Club,butfound Mrs. Darcy and the Blue-Eyed Stranger a little weird. While it was heavily promoted, I found it disappointing.
January 15, 2014
These short stories are set in areas where I've lived or visited, so it was fun seeing the familiar names pop up throughout the book. At first I was reading the stories back-to-back, but when I slowed down & just read one each night I enjoyed them more. Some are very similar to each other, but I guess that's not unusual since they're all being written by the same person.
October 11, 2019
Each story carried me inside from the very first sentence. Clever, bounding, heartfelt. A few were not as much fun, but most were completely satisfying from the first to the last word, which can be so difficult to do with a short story. Nothing too heartbreaking but still emotionally drawn. Worth rereading someday.
May 21, 2010
Honestly, I don't really have much to say about these short stories. A couple were good, some decent, and others...well, I just found myself not really getting into the story or characters. I will definitely not be reading this book again.
July 21, 2010
I love this author, but I'm not a big fan of short stories, I guess! Not one of my favorites.
July 26, 2010
short stories set in the dysfunctional south
January 20, 2011
I am a fan of the author, but not of this collection.
September 5, 2014
Randomly picked this up at the library and absolutely loved this insightful collection of short stories. None is earth shattering but each tells a tale that ambles along a path filled with enjoyment.
February 7, 2016
Lee Smith has compiled 14 short stories with unforgettable characters and interesting experiences.
April 11, 2023
A beautifully written collection of short stories with interesting and very different characters. These aren’t quick and easy reads. They require your attention and your interest in getting to know folks who are complicated. The stories take place in the South with conflicts between the formally educated and those educated by life, those with money and those without, religious differences and more.
I enjoyed this book.
I enjoyed this book.
June 26, 2019
My first experience of Lee Smith, but I would definitely read something else. This was the perfect book for a holiday in Greece - short stories but not too short. Bittersweet and poignant and often humorous and full of the ordinary stuff that make up our lives. Love as a driving force shines through - whether we are 16 or 86.
October 9, 2019
It was a collection of stories. Of course some I liked better than others but that is par for the course. There was a good variety. The last story which was the title of the book was my least favorite. A few were based in different parts of North Carolina where I now live so I could relate. Over all it was a good selection and I wonder what happened to some of the characters.
November 11, 2021
I don't normally like short story collections, but Lee Smith is a marvelous writer, and she is able to capture so much in the span of 50 or so pages. I loved this book - the stories range from poignant to laugh out loud funny. It was just a wonderful escape to a very different world than mine, and it was a delight.
October 7, 2024
Short stories by Lee Smith, a favorite author who went to Hollins and is a little older than I. She captures the beauty of the natural world in the south, especially the waterfront. Her stories are filled with women who might seem ditzy and dumb but are actually quite complicated. I really enjoyed these stories - they were a nice break!
August 8, 2025
Mrs Darcy and the Blue-Eyed Stranger by Lee Smith is a collection of 14 short stories. The stories are believable and they have strong characters and are well written. I haven’t read books of short stories before but this was gifted to me along with a number of other books. I would read this author’s other books.
March 19, 2017
I started the book over from the beginning. The book was 14 short stories. Some of the stories let your imagination end the story. I enjoyed the stories a lot, some made me remember when I was young and I liked that.
May 22, 2020
I LOVED this book. Every short story is a jewel. A story within the face of an everyday person. I think Lee Smith could spend 2 minutes observing a woman pick out fruit at the market and write a story of her life.
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