This complete collection of Agnes Owens' five novellas opens with 'Like Birds in the Wilderness', a portrait of brickie Mac. He's a straightforward guy with a talent for laying bricks and a liking for the drink who decides to head to the oil-rich north to seek his fortune. 'A Working Mother' is a wildly entertaining cautionary tale: while Betty's husband Adam broods and drinks (to be matched at times by Betty, just to be sociable) she flirts with...