A collection of Short Stories

Do you wonder how I research historical details for Love Suffers Long and is Kind? The answer is rather shameful: I don't! I spend very little time looking through reference sources. Instead, I indulge in a favourite pastime: that of reading old books. My friends will tell you, take me into a secondhand store and I head straight for the bookshelves in the back (well, I sometimes cast a fleeting look at antique jewelry or china along the way). But old books are a treasure. Even the most prosy, unremarkable stories contain a wealth of detail and expression.

The stories on this page, however, are not of the tedious kind. They're short and light, and will bring a smile. Well, except for Purple and Fine Linen, perhaps, though it does have a hopeful ending.

I'll be adding more titles from time to time. Enjoy!

A Change of Treatment by W. W. Jacobs, 1903

This is for those who think that people of a century ago were dull and un-funny.

Purple and Fine Linen by May Edginton, 1926

A worldly-wise man confronts his pickpocket, but with unexpected results. You know, if Patrick McGillvary were a self-made man, and Australian, Mr Frampton would be a perfect character study, simply for his love of the chase.

Strain by Albert Richard Wetjen, 1923

A different sort of sea story, with an unforgettable captain. The dashing Captain Wentworth he ain't, but as a man who can stand under the pressures of a command, Captain Roscoe shines.

A New Year's Eve Confession by Hermann Sudermann, 1907

When the love between a man and a woman cannot be expressed, does that love die?

To Love Suffers Long and is Kind
To Mercy's Embrace