The Collected Short Works, 1920-1954

by Bess Streeter Aldrich

Book Overview

During the first half of the twentieth century, Bess Streeter Aldrich became one of the most highly paid and widely read American authors of her time. Among the most noteworthy of frontier writers, Aldrich published her short work in such leading magazines as Cosmopolitan, Colliers, Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and the Saturday Evening Post. Her most famous novel, A Lantern in Her Hand, has remained a favorite since it was first published...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803224834
• ISBN13: 9780803224834
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Length: 340 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Delightful short stories with depth; a must for Aldrich fans!

What I really enjoy about this collection of Aldrich short stories is that each story is previewed with information about Aldrich, when the story was published, other pieces of her work that relate, and random little tidbits about the author and the short story. A wonderful bonus! This book also includes some pieces where Aldrich explains how she came up with ideas for some of her more popular novels, and also how she feels about living in a small town and the people who live in the small midwestern towns that she so dearly loves. Aldrich's stories deal with small town life, the righting of wrongs, the thrill [ and sometimes confusion] of young love and the quiet comfortable love between couples married for many years. She's able to absolutely capture the thoughts of characters young and old, writing about the adventures of a young boy and those of an older widow with the same genuine understanding. Delightful! Some of her stories were even ahead of her time, touching for example on divorce, which wasn't a common subject among magazine stories in the 1920's and 30's. What Aldrich fans love about her work is how real her stories are, and how timeless. She was one of THE most popular writers of her time, it's wonderful to see her works being republished.