The People on Privilege Hill

It is a wet day in Dorset, and walking to a luncheon party is Sir Edward Feathers QC, followed by two elderly friends: his scruffy neighbour and sparring partner, Veneering, and Fiscal-Smith, the meanest lawyer ever to make a fortune at the Bar. Fans of Jane Gardam's bestselling novel, Old Filth, will be delighted to encounter Filth, now almost ninety, making his immaculate way to Privilege Hill.

This collection of short stories range from a Victorian mansion, converted into a home for unmarried mothers, to a wartime hospital which is the scene for a job interview in the middle of the Blitz; and from ghost stories to a one-night stand (and its ironic punishment) to the tangle of emotions felt by her mother for her daughter. This collection is a masterclass in the art of the short story.

©1996, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007 Jane Gardam (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Great but grim writer

Gardam is an exquisite writer but her stories are grey and depressing. Old, sad people. Too sad to read.