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A Lovely Day to Die and Other Stories
'Britain's equivalent to Patricia Highsmith, Celia Fremlin wrote psychological thrillers that changed the landscape of crime fiction for ever: her novels are domestic, subtle, penetrating - and quite horribly chilling.' Andrew Taylor
Celia Fremlin's third collection of stories, first published in 1984, is a baker's dozen of gripping tales by the mistress of suspense. Within these covers are stories of family frustrations and fury - a young wife who wants rid of her husband, an elderly daughter who cannot endure her mother. Fremlin deals in the uncanny, too, constantly confounding our expectations, and those of her characters.
'Wonderfully written, subtle and disturbing.' Times
'Written with such perception and elegance that they repay many readings.' Glasgow Herald
'Celia Fremlin is an astonishing writer, who explores that nightmare country where brain, mind and self battle to establish the truth. She illuminates her dark world with acute perception and great wit.' Natasha Cooper
Celia Fremlin's third collection of stories, first published in 1984, is a baker's dozen of gripping tales by the mistress of suspense. Within these covers are stories of family frustrations and fury - a young wife who wants rid of her husband, an elderly daughter who cannot endure her mother. Fremlin deals in the uncanny, too, constantly confounding our expectations, and those of her characters.
'Wonderfully written, subtle and disturbing.' Times
'Written with such perception and elegance that they repay many readings.' Glasgow Herald
'Celia Fremlin is an astonishing writer, who explores that nightmare country where brain, mind and self battle to establish the truth. She illuminates her dark world with acute perception and great wit.' Natasha Cooper
190 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1984
About the author
Celia Fremlin
75 books94 followersCelia was born in Kingsbury, now part of London, England. She was the daughter of Heaver Fremlin and Margaret Addiscott. Her older brother, John H. Fremlin, later became a nuclear physicist. Celia studied at Somerville College, Oxford University. From 1942 to 2000 she lived in Hampstead, London. In 1942 she married Elia Goller, with whom she had three children; he died in 1968. In 1985, Celia married Leslie Minchin, who died in 1999. Her many crime novels and stories helped modernize the sensation novel tradition by introducing criminal and (rarely) supernatural elements into domestic settings. Her 1958 novel The Hours Before Dawn won the Edgar Award in 1960.
With Jeffrey Barnard, she was co-presenter of a BBC2 documentary “Night and Day” describing diurnal and nocturnal London, broadcast 23 January 1987.
Fremlin was an advocate of assisted suicide and euthanasia. In a newspaper interview she admitted to assisting four people to die.[1] In 1983 civil proceedings were brought against her as one of the five members of the EXIT Executive committee which had published “A Guide to Self Deliverance” , but the court refused to declare the booklet unlawful.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celia...]
With Jeffrey Barnard, she was co-presenter of a BBC2 documentary “Night and Day” describing diurnal and nocturnal London, broadcast 23 January 1987.
Fremlin was an advocate of assisted suicide and euthanasia. In a newspaper interview she admitted to assisting four people to die.[1] In 1983 civil proceedings were brought against her as one of the five members of the EXIT Executive committee which had published “A Guide to Self Deliverance” , but the court refused to declare the booklet unlawful.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celia...]
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 15, 2018
An absolute lovely collection of short grim stories full of wit and bleak ends that toss and turn at every corner.
In other hands it would have passed by without much of a sigh but Celia knows how to write a story.
She lets every short details deceive the reader, mislead our imagination and logic with each single paragraph till the very bitter and haunting end.
No horror, crime, weird, chilly or eerie tales here. It’s the everyday that is recounted and simply brought to you in an unmistakable flow of superb word after word.
In other hands it would have passed by without much of a sigh but Celia knows how to write a story.
She lets every short details deceive the reader, mislead our imagination and logic with each single paragraph till the very bitter and haunting end.
No horror, crime, weird, chilly or eerie tales here. It’s the everyday that is recounted and simply brought to you in an unmistakable flow of superb word after word.
May 21, 2022
This book was an introduction for me of this author. Each tale contained the nugget of a surprise twist which appeared within the final sentences. The suspense mounted following a brief descriptive intro, which led to a desire to rapidly reach the critical point.
Read
January 1, 2017Celia Fremlin’s stories of awkward crime and blunderous horror are every bit as readable and entertaining as her early psychological thriller masterworks, albeit incomparable in terms of compositional balance, artistic finesse and sheer convincingness.
In her novels the stark implausibility of denouements is cleverly cemented with thick multilayered stickjaw of psychologically overcharged innuendos, shaded off by the cloudy glass of looming lunacy. In her short stories, however, these camouflage tactics fail time and again, since she has no time to properly weave the sticky meshes of speculations and interpretations around the twists and turns of her shaky shockers. Author’s favorite weapon is a toy gun which unsurprisingly impresses the reader much more in the penumbrous ambiance of the claustrophobic strung up novels than it does in the glaring unsparing light of action-packed short stories.
For some reason Fremlin decided to wrap up every single story in this collection with an energetic twist presented in most cases with half-mocking tone, but obviously aiming for and hitting wide of the mark of factual credibility. This limitation seems to me unnecessary and disruptive, a deadly hindrance for the higher, genre-free aspirations. The last story, being the shortest of all, breaks free of these fetters and soars, delightful and heartfelt, as might a woman’s version of Salinger’s Teddy.
In her novels the stark implausibility of denouements is cleverly cemented with thick multilayered stickjaw of psychologically overcharged innuendos, shaded off by the cloudy glass of looming lunacy. In her short stories, however, these camouflage tactics fail time and again, since she has no time to properly weave the sticky meshes of speculations and interpretations around the twists and turns of her shaky shockers. Author’s favorite weapon is a toy gun which unsurprisingly impresses the reader much more in the penumbrous ambiance of the claustrophobic strung up novels than it does in the glaring unsparing light of action-packed short stories.
For some reason Fremlin decided to wrap up every single story in this collection with an energetic twist presented in most cases with half-mocking tone, but obviously aiming for and hitting wide of the mark of factual credibility. This limitation seems to me unnecessary and disruptive, a deadly hindrance for the higher, genre-free aspirations. The last story, being the shortest of all, breaks free of these fetters and soars, delightful and heartfelt, as might a woman’s version of Salinger’s Teddy.
February 11, 2021
Over a 3.
Decent collection of short stories about complex twisting power in domestic relations. Twist at end type.
The Long Shadow is the only other book I have read by Fremlin and reading The Holiday in this collection I wondered if there might be some reusing of material, but it went its own way.
Set in England a country with a culture uncomfortable with conflict and most stories told from the women's point of view we see the twisting wending and weaving of passive aggressiveness play out. Most of the women ultimately get their comuppance. And in the few stories written from the male point of view they get the better of the underhand contortions played upon them by their wives/ love interests too.
I sympathise with Fremlin coming down on the side of defeating passive aggressiveness as it is the most underhand and arguably - especially nowadays when physical aggression is widely agreed not the done thing - the most hostile behaviour.
But I wonder why it was done and especially by women (more so in the past I hope). Apart from English culture being very mum, nicey nicey etc due to being a densely populated small island or whatever the theory is, I wonder if women would have been labelled as brash, blunt, mouthy or bitches if they were more straightforward..
Decent collection of short stories about complex twisting power in domestic relations. Twist at end type.
The Long Shadow is the only other book I have read by Fremlin and reading The Holiday in this collection I wondered if there might be some reusing of material, but it went its own way.
Set in England a country with a culture uncomfortable with conflict and most stories told from the women's point of view we see the twisting wending and weaving of passive aggressiveness play out. Most of the women ultimately get their comuppance. And in the few stories written from the male point of view they get the better of the underhand contortions played upon them by their wives/ love interests too.
I sympathise with Fremlin coming down on the side of defeating passive aggressiveness as it is the most underhand and arguably - especially nowadays when physical aggression is widely agreed not the done thing - the most hostile behaviour.
But I wonder why it was done and especially by women (more so in the past I hope). Apart from English culture being very mum, nicey nicey etc due to being a densely populated small island or whatever the theory is, I wonder if women would have been labelled as brash, blunt, mouthy or bitches if they were more straightforward..
March 23, 2023
A rarity - a book I didn't manage to finish. It wasn't that it was bad - the writing was good enough - it was just... uninteresting. Not quite boring, but lacking that something that would hold my attention. I got three stories in and found that I just didn't want to read a fourth. I'd guessed the endings of the first two, and while the third was a bit better it wasn't enough for me to want to continue.
April 19, 2018
This woman was a genius at bringing us into the mind of her characters. I wish she'd written more. There are multiple gems in this collection that shouldn't be missed for people who know relationships aren't all ice cream cones and lollipops. I didn't care for the title story.
January 18, 2024
Lots of wonderful stories with death as the theme. The twists and turns these stories took made reading them so much fun!
August 16, 2024
Short story collection. Each has a twist of some kind that made the story perfect
I’d never heard of this author but I’m glad to have found her. I’ll be reading more for sure!.
I’d never heard of this author but I’m glad to have found her. I’ll be reading more for sure!.
Want to Read
August 9, 2025Read so far:
A lovely day to die--3
Dangerous sport--2
High dive
A strong shoulder to weep on
The luck of the devil
*The post-graduate thesis
The holiday
The bonus years
A case of maximum need--2
Etiquette for dying--3
*The woman who had everything
Test case
The miracle
***
Accommodation vacant--2
The blood on the innocents --3
The coldness of a thousand suns --2
Don't be frightened --3
Don't tell Cissie --3
Drown her on Saturday--2
Golden Tuesday --2
The locked room (aka From the locked room upstairs)--3
A quiet game (aka The magic carpet)
The sensory deprivation tank
Something evil in the house--3
The special gift --2
Waiting for the police --3
A lovely day to die--3
Dangerous sport--2
High dive
A strong shoulder to weep on
The luck of the devil
*The post-graduate thesis
The holiday
The bonus years
A case of maximum need--2
Etiquette for dying--3
*The woman who had everything
Test case
The miracle
***
Accommodation vacant--2
The blood on the innocents --3
The coldness of a thousand suns --2
Don't be frightened --3
Don't tell Cissie --3
Drown her on Saturday--2
Golden Tuesday --2
The locked room (aka From the locked room upstairs)--3
A quiet game (aka The magic carpet)
The sensory deprivation tank
Something evil in the house--3
The special gift --2
Waiting for the police --3
October 8, 2008
Collection of spooky short stories by this author, who is adept at evoking creepy undercurrents within the ambience of cosy domesticity.
April 7, 2013
It's too bad she is not more widely-read. It's getting difficult to find her books these days. Domestic horror, small-stage style.
April 16, 2014
A short book of short stories all with links to aging or death. They are great distractions with no effort to force the reader into pondering the meaning of life. Escapism in small bites.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews