Main content

Six short story classics

To mark the 10th anniversary of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ National Short Story Award we’ve collected six short story classics, first broadcast on Radio 4 and Radio 3. In Ted Hughes’ The Rain Horse, a man returns to the landscape of his youth and wrestles with his demons. Rudyard Kipling's The Gardener is a tale of remembrance, written out of Kipling's grief at losing his son in World War 1. Vladmir Nabokov’s Christmas is a moving story about a father in mourning, while Saki’s The She Wolf is a playful satire on Edwardian society. In Incident on Lake Geneva, by Stefan Zweig, a stranger is brought ashore by townsfolk who react to his arrival in different ways. And in Elizabeth Taylor’s The Blush, a housewife's peaceful existence is shattered by the influence of her cleaning lady.

Related Links