"The Reluctant Orchid" is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

short story 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 ...

by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1956, and later anthologized in''

Tales from the White Hart ''Tales from the White Hart'' is a collection of short stories by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, in the "club tales" style. Thirteen of the fifteen stories originally appeared across a number of different publications. "Moving Sp ...

''. Like the rest of the collection, it is a frame story set in the fictional "White Hart" pub, where the fictional Harry Purvis narrates the secondary tale. According to the American orchid biologist, Joseph Arditti, Clarke told him that the story was inspired by the

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Plot

The story narrated by Purvis describes the relationship between a very timid acquaintance of his named Hercules Keating, and Hercules's rather overbearing aunt. Hercules is an orchid fancier, and cultivates obscure varieties of these. On one particular occasion, he comes across a carnivorous orchid, and is nearly killed by it. This inspires him to use it to murder his aunt, whom he hates. However, the aunt tames the orchid, thus deflating the scheme.

Publication

Originally published in the magazine''

Satellite Science Fiction ''Satellite Science Fiction'' was an American science-fiction magazine published from October 1956 to April 1959 by Leo Margulies' Renown Publications. Initially, ''Satellite'' was digest sized and ran a full-length novel in each issue with a ...

'', the piece was later published as the eleventh story in Clarke's collection''

''.

References

Short stories by Arthur C. Clarke 1956 short stories Tales from the White Hart {{1950s-sf-story-stub