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Tales of the Wide Caribbean
This is an anthology of short stories.
- GenresShort Stories
First published November 25, 1985
About the author
Jean Rhys
70 books1,541 followersJean Rhys, CBE (born Ella Gwendolyn Rees Williams; 24 August 1890–14 May 1979) was a British novelist who was born and grew up in the Caribbean island of Dominica. From the age of 16, she mainly resided in England, where she was sent for her education. She is best known for her novel Wide Sargasso Sea (1966), written as a prequel to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.
She moved to England at the age of 16 years in 1906 and worked unsuccessfully as a chorus girl. In the 1920s, she relocated to Europe, travelled as a Bohemian artist, and took up residence sporadically in Paris. During this period, Rhys, familiar with modern art and literature, lived near poverty and acquired the alcoholism that persisted throughout the rest of her life. Her experience of a patriarchal society and displacement during this period formed some of the most important themes in her work.
She moved to England at the age of 16 years in 1906 and worked unsuccessfully as a chorus girl. In the 1920s, she relocated to Europe, travelled as a Bohemian artist, and took up residence sporadically in Paris. During this period, Rhys, familiar with modern art and literature, lived near poverty and acquired the alcoholism that persisted throughout the rest of her life. Her experience of a patriarchal society and displacement during this period formed some of the most important themes in her work.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 16, 2017
1987 notebook: Mostly childhood sketches, some later, longer pieces. They seem slight but they work on you. 'Til September Petronella' particularly affecting.
July 3, 2024
Published six years after her death, when she was still highly acclaimed for her award winning Wide Sargasso Sea (1969), this collection focuses, as its title states, on the same part of the world, her Caribbean homeland.
Some of the material had only been published in the better literary journals and newspapers, some of it had cropped up in earlier collections and some had never seen the light of day.
Those who read Jean's posthumously published unfinished autobiography Smile Please will recognise fictionalised glimpses of her formative years in these short stories (many have insisted that all of her fiction was in fact her memoirs encrypted).
Regardless of whether the sources were autobiographical, her storytelling is hypnotic, enthralling. We are there, on her late-Victorian/early-Edwardian Dominica, feeling the sun, smelling the ocean and exotic flora, hearing echoes of the island's inhabitants, empathising with this soul-baring raconteur. This is probably an old Jean Rhys remembering an extraordinary girlhood. Her characterisations are mesmerising, her words and sentences haunting.
Those unacquainted with Rhys' wider body of work may find less meaning in these stories than do her fans. But for this devotee, these almost filmic tales are priceless for their realism and authenticity.
As meticulously penned as all her material and painstakingly compiled in her wake, this is truly the icing on the cake for any Jean Rhys reader.
Some of the material had only been published in the better literary journals and newspapers, some of it had cropped up in earlier collections and some had never seen the light of day.
Those who read Jean's posthumously published unfinished autobiography Smile Please will recognise fictionalised glimpses of her formative years in these short stories (many have insisted that all of her fiction was in fact her memoirs encrypted).
Regardless of whether the sources were autobiographical, her storytelling is hypnotic, enthralling. We are there, on her late-Victorian/early-Edwardian Dominica, feeling the sun, smelling the ocean and exotic flora, hearing echoes of the island's inhabitants, empathising with this soul-baring raconteur. This is probably an old Jean Rhys remembering an extraordinary girlhood. Her characterisations are mesmerising, her words and sentences haunting.
Those unacquainted with Rhys' wider body of work may find less meaning in these stories than do her fans. But for this devotee, these almost filmic tales are priceless for their realism and authenticity.
As meticulously penned as all her material and painstakingly compiled in her wake, this is truly the icing on the cake for any Jean Rhys reader.
Want to Read
March 10, 2026Read so far:
Invitation to the dance --
*Mixing cocktails --
Fishy waters --3
Heat --
*The day they burned the books --
*Pioneers, oh, pioneers --
*Goodbye Marcus, goodbye Rose --
Overture and beginners please --
On not shooting sitting birds --
The insect world --
*Till September Petronella --
*Mannequin --
A night --
*La grosse Fifi --
Trio --
Again the Antilles --
The bishop's feast --
Temps Perdi --
I used to live here once --2
*Let them call it jazz --
***
I spy a stranger
Outside the machine
Sleep it off, lady
The sound of the river
A spiritualist
Tigers are better-looking
Invitation to the dance --
*Mixing cocktails --
Fishy waters --3
Heat --
*The day they burned the books --
*Pioneers, oh, pioneers --
*Goodbye Marcus, goodbye Rose --
Overture and beginners please --
On not shooting sitting birds --
The insect world --
*Till September Petronella --
*Mannequin --
A night --
*La grosse Fifi --
Trio --
Again the Antilles --
The bishop's feast --
Temps Perdi --
I used to live here once --2
*Let them call it jazz --
***
I spy a stranger
Outside the machine
Sleep it off, lady
The sound of the river
A spiritualist
Tigers are better-looking
April 28, 2011
Another book by Jean Rhys that takes place in the Caribbean and mostly on Dominica. Lots of short stories that span a fairly wide time period. Some were amazing, others weren't that great.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews