Three people are frozen in a conspiracy of silence that prevents love's consummation; a nine-year-old dreams that a movie part heals her fragmented family life; a brother and sister forge a new life amid terrible beauty of Ireland after Rebellion; and in title story, a man chooses between his longtime love and a life of solitude on family farm.

A title in which, a waiter divulges a shocking life of crime to his ex-wife; a woman repeats the story of her parents' unstable marriage after a horrible tragedy; a schoolgirl regrets gossiping about the cuckolded man who tutors her; and, a middle-aged accountant offers his reasons for ending a love affair.

Suitable for those who enjoyed "The Story of Lucy Gault" and "Love and Summer", this title deals with themes of missed opportunities, the inevitability of change and the powerful but fragmentary quality of our memories.

Ireland has been called a nation of story-tellers. "Stories of one kind or another have a way of pressing themselves into Irish conversation, both as entertainment and as a form of communication," writes William Trevor. "For centuries they have been offered to strangers, almost as hospitality is: tall stories, simple stories, stories of extraordinary deeds, of mysteries and wonders, of gentleness, love, cruelty, and violence." Himself an accomplished short story writer, Trevor has gathered here a collection of stories that represent not only the best of Irish short story writing, but the best...

A group of septuagenarians revive schoolboy conflicts in the election of the President of the Old Boys Association. Jaraby expects to get the job, but he reckons without the bitterness of Nox, who still remembers the humiliations of his school years. And when Jaraby's son gets into trouble with the law, Nox has the perfect stick with which to beat him. Their powers may be failing but the old boys possess a fierce understanding of the things in life that matter - power, revenge, hatred, love, and the failure of love.

William Bird has always taken in boarders who are on the fringes of society: the petty conman, the immigrant who's never been able to fit in, the blustering officer who really doesn't know what's what, and the just plain lonely. He's built a unique place with a unique atmosphere. But then he realises he's dying, and he decides to leave the place to the two tenants likely to cause the greatest amount of trouble, and the whole enterprise goes up in smoke.

From the offices of her Love Department, Lady Dolores cures the heartaches of the lonely wives of Wimbledon with inimitable flourish and finesse. When her newest protege, the somewhat naive Edward Blakeston-Smith, is sent on a mission to learn the secrets of seductive, scheming Septimus Tuam and stop him in his tracks, he learns all about love, its friends and enemies."

Mrs Eckdorf in O'Neill's Hotel by William Trevor - a classic early novel by one of the world's greatest writers The probings of an outsider bring havoc to a crumbling Dublin hotel What was the tragedy that turned O'Neill's hotel from plush establishment into a dingy house of disrepute? Ivy Eckdorf is determined to find out. A professional photographer, she has come to Dublin convinced that a tragic and beautiful tale lies behind the facade of this crumbling hotel. The aging proprietor lies dying upstairs while her feckless son is lost in a world of drink and horseracing; and the loyal O'Shea,...

Miss Gomez and the Brethren by William Trevor - a classic early novel from one of the world's greatest writers 'Like Rembrandt, Trevor looks long but charitably upon his creations . . . his understanding of human nature is acute' Sunday Times Beryl Tuke, whiling time away in the Thistle Arms with gin and cheap romances, and Alban Roche at Bassett's Petstore are among the street's dream-ridden survivors. A new arrival, Miss Gomez, on the run from her tragic childhood in Jamaica, now lives for her postal correspondence with the Church of the Brethren of the Way back on the island. No one will...

Elizabeth Alone by William Trevor - a powerful and moving novel from one of the world's finest writers After nineteen years of marriage, three children and a brief but passionate affair followed by a quick divorce, Elizabeth Aidallbery has to go to hospital for an emergency operation. From her hospital bed she has the leisure to take stock of her life, and frankly it doesn't look very edifying: there's the 17 year old daughter who's run off to a commune with her boyfriend; an old hopeless suitor who continues to press his claims; and of course the memory of the havoc she caused by the affair....