Read Short Stories 1895-1926 Online
Authors: Walter de la Mare
The entries under the eight main collections, R (1923), DDB (1924, 1936), Br (1925), C (1926), OE (1930), LF (1933), WBO (1936) and Beg (1955), which have been used as the framework for
Short Stories,
include all the known information about:
(a) the serialization of stories and their
     publication in book form before they appeared in
     those collections, and
(b) their later inclusion in other collections of
    de la Mare works during his lifetime.
It has occasionally been difficult to establish definitely whether serializations and appearances in book form were before or after the publication of a main collection (e.g.
Lispet, Lispett and Vaine
(1923) and some of the stories in Br (1925)), and in such cases they have been listed under (a), even if some of them were a month or two later. They have also been assumed to be earlier in the footnotes to the stories for the sake of convenience. Except where there are indications to the contrary, all the books mentioned were published in London. Finally, where texts other than those in the eight main collections have been used in
Short Stories,
they have been asterisked (*). For abbreviations, see page
x
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Story and Rhyme
(1921)
A selection of his writings de la Mare made for schools and colleges. It included âThe Almond Tree' and âThe Riddle' that were collected in R (1923).
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Lispet, Lispett and Vaine
(1923)
Published by itself in a limited edition of 200 signed copies, with wood-engravings by W.P. Robins. The story was collected in R (1923) and later included in CT (1950).
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The Riddle and Other Stories
(R) (1923)
De la Mare's first volume of short stories, published in May 1923. It contained fifteen stories:
âThe Almond Tree' (originally written in or before 1899)
(a)
English Review,
August 1909
Story and Rhyme
(1921)
(b) SEP (1938)
BS (1942)*
The Almond Tree
(1943)
CT (1950)
âThe Count's Courtship' (originally written in or before 1899)
(a)
Lady's Realm,
July 1907
âThe Looking-Glass'
âMiss Duveen' (originally written in or before 1907)
(b) SSS (1931)
SEP (1938)
The Picnic and Other Stories
(1941)
BS (1942)*
CT (1950)
âSelina's Parable'
(a)
New Statesman,
1 November 1919
Living Age,
6 December 1919
(b)
The Nap and Other Stories
(1936)*
âSeaton's Aunt' (originally written in or before 1909)
(a)
London Mercury,
April 1922
(b)
Seaton's Aunt
(1927)
BS (1942)*
CT (1950)
âThe Bird of Travel'
(a)
Lady's Realm,
October 1908
(b) SSS (1931)
âThe Bowl' (originally written in or before 1904)
(b)
The Nap and Other Stories
(1936)*
CT (1950)
âThe Three Friends'
(a)
Saturday Westminster Gazette,
19 April 1913
(b) SEP (1938)
The Picnic and Other Stories
(1941)*
CT (1950)
âLispet, Lispett and Vaine'
(a)
Yale Review,
January 1923
Bookman's Journal,
February 1923
Lispet, Lispett and Vaine
(1923)
(b) CT (1950)
âThe Tree'
(a)
Century,
August 1922
London Mercury,
October 1922
(b) SSS (1931)
CT (1950)
âOut of the Deep'
(b) GS (1956)
âThe Creatures'
(a)
London Mercury,
January 1920
(b) CT (1950)
âThe Riddle' (originally written in or before 1898)
(a)
Monthly Review,
February 1903
Story and Rhyme
(1921)
(b) SEP (1938)
The Magic Jacket and Other Stories
(1943)
CSC (1947)*
CT (1950)
âThe Vats'
(a)
Saturday Westminster Gazette,
16 June 1917
(b) BS (1942)*
CT (1950)
Ding Dong Bell
(DDB) (1924, 1936)
The original edition, published in April 1924, consisted of three short stories written round groups of epitaphs. It had a wood-engraving by Reynolds Stone. A fourth story was added in the 1936 edition. (See also âDe Mortuis' on page
444
, which has epitaphs in common with âLichen' and âWinter'.)
âLichen'
(a)
Lady's Realm,
September 1907
(b) SEP (1938)*
â“Benighted”'
(a)
Pall Mall Magazine,
July-December 1906
âStrangers and Pilgrims' (1936)
(a)
Yale Review,
March 1936
(b) CT (1950)
âWinter'
Miss Jemima
(1925)
Published by itself at Oxford, with illustrations by Alec Buckels. The story was collected in Br (1925), and later included in
The Magic Jacket and Other Stories
(1943) and CSC (1947).
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Broomsticks and Other Tales
(Br) (1925)
The first volume of short stories for children, with designs by Bold, the second being LF (1933). It had twelve stories, of which three were omitted from CSC (1947): âPigtails, Ltd.', âThe Thief' and âA Nose'.
âPigtails, Ltd.'
(a)
Atlantic Monthly,
August 1925
âThe Dutch Cheese'
(a)
Lady's Realm,
May 1908
(b)
The Dutch Cheese
(New York, 1931)
The Dutch Cheese and Other Stories
(1946)
CSC (1947)*
SSV (1952)
âMiss Jemima'
(a)
Number One Joy Street
(Oxford, 1923)
Miss Jemima
(Oxford, 1925)
(b)
The Magic Jacket and Other Stories
(1943)
CSC (1947)*
âThe Thief'
(a)
G.K.'s Weekly,
21 March and 4 April 1925
âBroomsticks'
(a)
London Mercury,
October 1925
Yale Review,
October 1925
(b)
The Scarecrow and Other Stories
(1945)
CSC (1947)*
âLucy'
(a)
Number Two Joy Street
(Oxford, 1924)
(b)
Lucy
(Oxford, 1927)
The Dutch Cheese and Other Stories
(1946)
CSC (1947)*
âA Nose'
âThe Three Sleeping Boys of Warwickshire'
(a)
Virginia Quarterly Review,
October 1925
(b)
The Dutch Cheese and Other Stories
(1946)
CSC (1947)*
SSV (1952)
âThe Lovely Myfanwy'
(b)
The Dutch Cheese
(New York, 1931)
The Scarecrow and Other Stories
(1945)
CSC (1947)*
âAlice's Godmother'
(b)
The Dutch Cheese and Other Stories
(1946)
CSC (1947)*
âMaria-Fly'
(a)
G.K.'s Weekly,
19 and 26 September 1925
(b) SSS (1931)
The Nap and Other Stories
(1936)
The Old Lion and Other Stories
(1942)
CSC (1947)*
âVisitors'
(a)
Forum,
October 1925
(b)
The Scarecrow and Other Stories
(1945)
CSC (1947)*
Two Tales
(1925)
This was published in July 1925 in a limited edition of 250 signed copies, and had the first printed versions of âThe Connoisseur' (C (1926)) (full version) and âThe Green Room' (OE (1930)). See C (1926) and OE (1930) below.
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The Connoisseur and Other Stories
(C) (1926)
Contained nine short stories, and was published in May 1926. Two sections of âThe Connoisseur', the title story, called âThe Seven Valleys' and âEn Route' that had appeared in
Two Tales
(1925) were omitted in C (1926). They were restored in CT (1950), probably with de la Mare's approval, and they have been retained in this volume.
âMr Kempe'
(a)
London Mercury,
November 1925
Harper's Magazine,
November 1925
âMissing'
(b) SSS (1931)
SEP (1938)
BS (1942)*
CT (1950)
âThe Connoisseur' (without âThe Seven Valleys' and âEn Route')
(a)
Two Tales
(July 1925) (full version)
Yale Review,
July 1925 (full version)
(b) CT (1950) (full version)
âDisillusioned'
âThe Nap'
(b) SSS (1931)
The Nap and Other Stories
(1936)
The Picnic and Other Stories
(1941)
BS (1942)*
CT (1950)
âPretty Poll'
(a)
London Mercury,
April 1925
âAll Hallows'
(b)
The Nap and Other Stories
(1936)
BS (1942)*
CT (1950)
âThe Wharf'
(a)
The Queen,
November 1924
(b) SSS (1931)
The Picnic and Other Stories
(1941)*
CT (1950)
âThe Lost Track'
Seaton's Aunt
(1927)
Reprinted by itself from R (1923) with wood-engravings by Blair Hughes-Stanton. It was also included in BS (1942) and CT (1950).
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Lucy
(1927)
Reprinted by itself from Br (1925) at Oxford, with illustrations by Hilda T. Miller. It was also included in
The Dutch Cheese and Other Stories
(1946) and CSC (1947).
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Old Joe
(1927)
At different times, this story had no less than four different titles. After appearing in
Number Three Joy Street
(Oxford, 1925) and being printed by itself at Oxford in 1927, with illustrations by C.T. Nightingale, as âOld Joe', it was included in LF (1933) as âHodmadod'. In
The Scarecrow and Other Stories
(1945) it became âThe Scarecrow or Hodmadod', and in CSC (1947) The Scarecrow'.
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At First Sight
(1928)
One of de la Mare's longest short stories, it was published by itself in New York in 1928 (in a limited edition of 650 signed copies) before being collected in OE (1930). The 1928 version had the sub-title âA Novel'. The story appeared again in SEP (1938).
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On the Edge: Short Stories
(OE) (1930)
It contained eight short stories (with wood-engravings by Elizabeth Rivers), one of which had been serialized in 1905 (âAn Ideal Craftsman'); and it came out in September 1930. See also Unpublished Stories in
Short Stories 1927â1956.
âA Recluse'
(a)
The Ghost Book,
ed. Cynthia Asquith (1926)
âWillows'
(a)
Blackwood's Magazine,
September 1929
Virginia Quarterly Review,
October 1929
(b) CT (1950)
âCrewe'
(a)
London Mercury,
July 1929
Shudders,
ed. Cynthia Asquith (1929)
(where it was called âCrewe Train')
(b) BS (1942)*
âAt First Sight'
(a)
Forum,
June-September 1927
At First Sight: A Novel
(New York, 1928)
(b) SEP (1938)*
âThe Green Room'
(a)
Two Tales
(July 1925)
Bookman's Journal,
September 1925 (where it was called âThe Green
Room: A Bookshop Story')
(b) SEP (1938)*
GS (1956)
âThe Orgy: An Idyll' (for Part II of the story, see Unpublished Stories in
Short Stories 1927â1956)
(a)
Blackwood's Magazine,
June 1930 (where it was called âThe Orgy')
Yale Review,
June 1930 (where it was called âThe Orgy')
(b) SEP (1938)
BS (1942)*
The Orgy
(1943)
CT (1950)
âThe Picnic'
(a)
Criterion,
April 1930
Virginia Quarterly Review,
April 1930
(b)
The Picnic and Other Stories
(1941)
BS (1942)*
âAn Ideal Craftsman' (originally written in or before 1900; and, according to de la Mare's introduction to OE (1930), it âhas not merely, like the rest, been revised, but has been twice re-written: once by myself and once by my old friend Mr Forrest Reid, who also went over it again in proof').
(a)
Monthly Review,
June 1905
(b)
The Nap and Other Stories
(1936)
BS (1942)*
CT (1950)
Seven Short Stories
(SSS) (1931)
A selection of seven stories published in collections that was illustrated by John Nash. They were âMiss Duveen', âThe Bird of Travel' and âThe Tree' from R (1923), âMaria-Fly' from Br (1925), and âMissing', âThe Nap' and âThe Wharf' from C (1926).
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The Dutch Cheese
(1931)
Published in New York, this contained two children's stories from Br (1925), âThe Dutch Cheese' and âThe Lovely Myfanwy', together with illustrations by Dorothy P. Lathrop. It should not be confused with
The Dutch Cheese and Other Stories
(1946).