by Jane Gardam
First published 1993
This collection brings together three distinct stories that were originally performed as readings at the Cheltenham Festival of Literature across three consecutive years. Jane Gardam contributes "Bevis," which was presented in 1991. William Trevor offers "A Friendship," delivered to festival audiences in 1992. Rose Tremain rounds out the trio with "The Candle Maker," performed in 1993. Each story carries the particular energy of work crafted for live performance, shaped by writers who understood they would first meet their audience through the spoken word rather than the printed page. The collection captures a specific moment in British literary culture when established authors gathered annually to share new work with festival audiences, creating an intimate connection between writer and reader that these stories still preserve.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, collections, anthologies, 20th-century, contemporary, british-literature, 21st-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Setting: Cheltenham
Period: 1991, 1992, 1993
Paperback · Penguin Books Ltd