Victorian Short Stories: Stories of Courtship

About the book

This small anthology gathers courtship stories by W. S. Gilbert, Anthony Trollope, Hubert Crackanthorpe, George Egerton, and Israel Zangwill. Gilbert's opening tale begins with an isolated man's attachment to a woman he sees reflected in a Venetian canal, immediately making perception part of the romantic problem. The other selections include 'The Parson's Daughter of Oxney Colne,' 'Anthony Garstin's Courtship,' 'A Little Grey Glove,' and 'The Woman Beater.' Their differing voices place affection beside pride, social judgment, misinterpretation, and the unequal positions from which people approach intimacy. The collection's narrow theme allows the differences in treatment to stand out. Courtship appears less as a predictable movement toward marriage than as a test of what each participant believes about the other.

• Courtship
• Misinterpretation
• Social expectations

Why read it

Read it for five contrasting approaches to the assumptions and vulnerabilities hidden inside romantic pursuit.

English anthology of five stories