A Glove Shop in Vienna and Other Stories

by Eva Ibbotson, Amanda Craig (Introduction)

Overview

Curl up with a collection of romantic short stories taking you from nineteenth-century Vienna, over the wild moors of Northumberland to the snowy streets of pre-revolutionary St Petersberg.

Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features an introduction by author and journalist Amanda Craig.

Join Great Uncle Max, torn between his secret love for Susie, the enchanting glove-shop assistant, and the devotion of his opera-singing wife. Meet Nina, the beautiful chanteuse, who always wears a white rose for Paul, the lover who years ago disappeared to allow her success. And agonize with Kira, a dancer in Russia’s Imperial Ballet School, thrown out onto the streets of St Petersburg and found by Edwin, a lonely dreamer. Complex, witty and peopled with characters who surprise themselves as well as us, Eva Ibbotson’s short stories uncover the great passions of everyday life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529059342
Publisher:	Macmillan Collector's Library
Publication date:	11/23/2021
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	643,047
Product dimensions:	3.98(w) x 6.29(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Eva Ibbotson was born in Vienna in 1925 and moved to England with her father when the Nazis came to power. She wrote more than twenty books for children and adults, many of which garnered nominations for major awards for children's literature in the UK, including the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize and the Whitbread Prize. Imaginative and humorous, Eva's books often convey her love of nature, in particular the Austrian countryside, which is evident in works such as The Star of Kazan and A Song for Summer. Eva passed away at her home in Newcastle on 20 October 2010. Her final book, One Boy and His Dog, was published in May 2011.

Editorial Reviews

Known for her neatly fashioned romance fiction, Ibbotson (Madensky Square) here collects 19 decorous stories of love gained and lost. With settings that range from the early 1990s to the present day, they generally feature surprise endings, some of them sadly contrived. In the title story, Max, a lawyer and confirmed bachelor in pre-WW I Vienna, attends the opera, where Helene, a singer of Wagnerian heft, is hurt in an onstage accident. She hires Max to file suit; they marry; later, Max takes a mistress. On his wife's death he is free to marry his paramour, but Helene's will dictates otherwise--she knew that forbidden fruit is sweetest. The London grocer in ``Doushenka'' is obsessed by Russia. Traveling to St. Petersburg, he falls in love with a young ballerina, but their relationship is ended by his sacrifice on her behalf, and for the rest of his life he must be content with the memories of his Great Love. A Great Love is the essential element in these old-fashioned tales, of which ``Sidi'' is the most celebratory--and blatantly sentimental. Eschewing the angst and alienation discussed in much contemporary fiction, Ibbotson offers leisurely details of a more genteel era whose passing she obviously laments. Her stories, however, are oversweet and ultimately cloying. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Women who enjoy romantic fiction will enjoy these heartwarming stories, first published in Great Britain in 1984. Ibbotson concentrates on the infinite variety of Great Love--its discovery, development, recognition, loss, and denouement. Her characters, males and females of all ages and professions, are frequently seen during the Christmas season and in prewar Vienna and Russia. In many stories, people find and lose each other--often with an O. Henry twist. Ibbotson, a winner of the Romantic Novelists Association award, writes charmingly about love, forgiveness, loss, and happiness. Highly recommended.-- Ellen R. Cohen, Rockville, Md.

Library Journal