Witty, heartbreaking, shocking, satirical: the short story can excite or sadden, entice or repulse. The one thing it can never be is dull. Author Victoria Hislop, a passionate ambassador for the art of the short story, has hand-picked one hundred stories from the very best women writers, bringing them together in a beautifully produced volume, with a personal introduction.

The Story features two centuries of women’s short fiction, ranging from established masters Alice Munro and Angela Carter, to contemporary rising stars such as Miranda July and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Divided thematically into collections on love, loss and the lives of women, the reader will find a story for every mood, mind-set and moment in life.

‘While gathering the short stories for this anthology, I have read some of the most brilliant and profound pieces of writing that I have ever come across. The authors in this anthology range from a Nobel Prize winner, Doris Lessing, to the acknowledged queen of short stories, Alice Munro. There are Man Booker winners, Costa winners and Pulitzer winners. A few were born in the 19th century but the majority are more modern. Several of them are as yet unknown, others are household names, like Virginia Woolf. Many of the most vivid and passionate storytellers are young. And without doubt many of the most powerfully original are contemporary writers …