The Oxford Library of Short Novels

by John Wain (editor)

Genres: Classics, Short Stories

1488 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

John Barrington Wain was an English poet, novelist, and critic, associated with the literary group "The Movement". For most of his life, Wain worked as a freelance journalist and author, writing and reviewing for newspapers and the radio.

Wain was born and grew up in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the son of a dentist, Arnold Wain, and his wife Annie, née Turner. He had an older sister and a younger brother, Noel. After attending Newcastle under Lyme High School, he entered St. John's College, Oxford, gaining a first in his BA in 1946 and MA in 1950. He was a Fereday Fellow of St. John's between 1946 and 1949. On 4 July 1947, Wain married Marianne Uffenheimer (b. 1923 or 1924), but they divorced in 1956. Wain then married Eirian Mary James (1920 - 1988), deputy director of the recorded sound department of the British Council, on 1 January 1960. They had three sons and lived mainly in Wolvercote, Oxford. Wain married his third wife, Patricia Adams (born 1942 or 1943), an art teacher, in 1989. He died in Oxford on 24 May 1994.

Reviews

[Kyrill]

Good compilation of 15 novellas from world literature, some great some okay some bad. My highlights were 'The death of Ivan Ilyich' by Tolstoj, 'The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Stevenson and 'The Stranger' by Albert Camus. Heart of darkness was also included, which left such a strong impression on me I bought a copy and read it again soon after.

[Irene Adler]

As with any collection of stories there are the great, the good and the unreadable. So the rating spans 1 to 5 stars. This is an education in 3 volumes.

The highlights for me were:
'Castle Rackrent, an Hibernian Tale' by Maria Edgeworth, an author I'd not previously heard of and funnier than I ever expected.
'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' by R L Stevenson, a story so famous I thought I must have read it before, but I hadn't.
'The Sign of Four' by Arthur Conan Doyle, a re-read, but Sherlock Holmes never disappoints.
'The Heart of Darkness' by Joseph Conrad, a repeated re-read and one of my top ten novels of all time.
'The Virgin and the Gypsy' by DH Lawrence, unexpected, inclines me to read some of his other works.
'The Outsider' Albert Camus, there was lots to not like about this story but it had such a vivid sense of place (Algeria, the heat!) that I kept reading.
'The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers, nothing happens for most of the story, plot lines don't necessarily resolve, but the 'voice' was strong and engaging.

There were a few that fell into the 3 and 4 stars, and more than a few that I didn't read more than a few pages into before abandoning for the next story. Tolstoy, Goethe and Melville are dead to me.