Beginning with an exquisite love story - an ancient saga retold by Lady Gregory - and continuing with George Moore and the birth of the modern short story at the turn of the century, this highly representative collection includes both classic writers and contemporaries. It features the work of such preeminent literary figures as James Joyce, Sean O'Faolain, Mary Lavin, Frank O'Connor, and Liam O'Flaherty, whose work re-established the tradition of the short story; it concludes with more recent exponents of the form, all of them highly acclaimed, including Elizabeth Bowen, William Trevor, and Edna O'Brien.