Libro: Stories for Mothers and Daughters

This fully annotated anthology includes:

- explanations of historical context in new introduction by Simon Thomas
- newly typeset and corrected versions of rare stories by women writers from the British Library collections
- original selection of short stories published together for the first time

Glorious chaos descends when a troop of daughters pay their mother a weekend visit; a mother buys her daughter a pet to teach her piety; and a daughter deposits unwanted suitors with her charmingly garrulous mother. Through the ages, teenage daughters perpetually rebel against maternal spectres of tradition, fallible mothers worry over the responsibility of imparting wisdom, and there are moments when time wears thin, and mothers slip back into being daughters. These stories often sketch the fault lines of this bond: a debutante daughter feels herself growing invisible, a sanatorium patient begins to question if her mother really wants her to get better, and a mother silently haunts her house when her children are packed off for the holidays. From telling a fairy-tale to attending a funeral, this collection is a testament to the love, in all its complexities and aches, that passes through generations of women.

This anthology brings together an eclectic mix of female masters of the short-story format. Many of these stories first appeared in periodicals and printed collections and are now presented together for the first time as part of the Women Writers series. Side by side, these mothers and daughters navigate the changes of a turbulent twentieth century for women’s rights and societal attitudes to female behaviour. This collection brings together the talents of Richmal Crompton, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Jeanette Winterson, Jamaica Kincaid, A.S. Byatt, Inez Holden, Winifred Holtby, Janet Frame, E.M. Delafield, and Tillie Olsen to embrace the mother-daughter bond in all its lovely, imperfect forms.