Description
Helen Stancey's debut collection of short stories more than rivals her well-received novels, Words and Common Ground. The Madonna of the Pool is a fantastic collection of short stories which explore the triumphs, compromises and quiet disappointments of everyday life. Drawing on a wide array of characters, Helen Stancey shows how small events, insignificant to some, can resonate deeply in the lives of others.
Richly poetic, deeply moving and entirely engaging, these short stories demonstrate an exquisite understanding of human adaptation, endurance and, most of all, optimism.
About the Author
Helen Stancey was born and brought up in Yorkshire. After attending University College London with a degree in English, she decided to remain in the capital, where she is still currently living. She was briefly involved in the fringe theatre, before qualifying in psychology and teaching in various colleges. During the earlier years of her writing career she produced mostly poetry as well as some short dramatic pieces for children. Later she published two novels, Words in 1983 and Common Ground in 1986, and her most recent work, a collection of short stories, The Madonna of the Pool, published in 2017.
Reviews
'In the poised assurance of its writing, one has a sense of a writer gifted with an instinctive sense of how to tell a story' -The Spectator
'Writing so accomplished...' -Tablet
'Palpable excellence' -Literary Review
'Stancey writes as [...] an observer of life who is well briefed in the populace's little foibles. Each tale is beautifully crafted and offers an insight into the otherwise private world of its central character; they are vignettes or, in some cases, confessions' -Sarah Morgan, Yorkshire Magazine
'Stancey has pieced together a collection that feels subtle and truthful to the human experience without feeling overwrought [...] a realistic portrayal of human endurance captured in twelve short stories, each intently focused to create a snapshot of the characters' everyday trials and triumphs' -The Book Bag
Book Information
ISBN 9781912054008
Author Helen Stancey
Format Paperback
Page Count 144
Imprint Fairlight Books
Publisher Fairlight Books
Richly poetic, deeply moving and entirely engaging, these short stories demonstrate an exquisite understanding of human adaptation, endurance and, most of all, optimism.
About the Author
Helen Stancey was born and brought up in Yorkshire. After attending University College London with a degree in English, she decided to remain in the capital, where she is still currently living. She was briefly involved in the fringe theatre, before qualifying in psychology and teaching in various colleges. During the earlier years of her writing career she produced mostly poetry as well as some short dramatic pieces for children. Later she published two novels, Words in 1983 and Common Ground in 1986, and her most recent work, a collection of short stories, The Madonna of the Pool, published in 2017.
Reviews
'In the poised assurance of its writing, one has a sense of a writer gifted with an instinctive sense of how to tell a story' -The Spectator
'Writing so accomplished...' -Tablet
'Palpable excellence' -Literary Review
'Stancey writes as [...] an observer of life who is well briefed in the populace's little foibles. Each tale is beautifully crafted and offers an insight into the otherwise private world of its central character; they are vignettes or, in some cases, confessions' -Sarah Morgan, Yorkshire Magazine
'Stancey has pieced together a collection that feels subtle and truthful to the human experience without feeling overwrought [...] a realistic portrayal of human endurance captured in twelve short stories, each intently focused to create a snapshot of the characters' everyday trials and triumphs' -The Book Bag
Book Information
ISBN 9781912054008
Author Helen Stancey
Format Paperback
Page Count 144
Imprint Fairlight Books
Publisher Fairlight Books
