''The Little Tales of Smethers and Other Stories'' is a collection of
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
and
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
by writer
Lord Dunsany
Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (; 24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957, usually Lord Dunsany) was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. Over 90 volumes of fiction, essays, poems and plays appeared in his lifetime.Lanham, M ...
. It was first published in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
by
Jarrolds
The Jarrold Group is a Norwich–based company, founded as ''Jarrold & Sons Ltd'', in 1770, by John Jarrold, at Woodbridge, Suffolk, before relocating to Norfolk in 1823. ''The Jarrold Group'' still involves members of the Jarrold family.
Fami ...
in October,
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
.
The book collects twenty-six short pieces by Dunsany, including all of his tales of the character Mr Smethers, one being the much-anthologised mystery story "The Two Bottles of Relish", with its neat and devastating one-sentence solution at the end. An audiobook of the collection was released in 2017.
Contents
* "The Two Bottles of Relish"
* "The Shooting of Constable Slugger"
* "An Enemy of Scotland Yard"
* "The Second Front"
* "The Two Assassins"
* "Kriegblut's Disguise"
* "The Mug in the Gambling Hall"
* "The Clue"
* "Once Too Often"
* "An Alleged Murder"
* "The Waiter's Story"
* "A Trade Dispute"
* "The Pirate of the Round Pond"
* "A Victim of Bad Luck"
* "The New Master"
* "A New Murder"
* "A Tale of Revenge"
* "The Speech"
* "The Lost Scientist"
* "The Unwritten Thriller"
* "In Ravancore"
* "Among the Bean Rows"
* "The Death-Watch Beetle"
* "Murder by Lightning"
* "The Murder in Netherby Gardens"
* "The Shield of Athene"
References
*
1952 short story collections
Fantasy short story collections
Crime short story collections
Short story collections by Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany
Jarrold Publishing books
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