The Rat by Hannah Lowe
The landlady watches herself in the living room mirror, phone held to her ear. In the blurred morning light her face looks young again,...
Next Boat from Douala by William Boyd
From The London Magazine Stories 11, 1979
Then the brothel was raided. Christ, he’d only gone down to Spinoza’s to confront Patience with her handiwork. She hadn’t...
Into the Blue by Alison Lock
A bee is trapped behind the curtains––its silhouette circles the head of a printed flower. Edith pulls her arm free of the tightly tucked...
Blessed Is the Road On Which You Are Travelling Today by...
You had never heard of the word until an hour ago, but already your designers are as familiar with the concept as they are...
The Golden Hour by Frances Gapper
That afternoon was a particularly trying one for Mary. Having changed her mother’s incontinence pad and left her on the sofa watching ‘Homes under...
Flowers by Mark Godfrey
She communicates through flowers. Daffodils are for happiness, carnations for sadness, snowdrops mean hope and tulips stand for strength. She saves dahlias for saints’...
A Glamorous Life by Karl Manders
IN THE SUMMER, while their shells are still a pale colour, you may eat the white kernels of unripe hazel nuts. You extract their...
A Discrete Disclosure by Desmond King
Frank’s Englishness was all about him for he dressed in country wear: tweed sports jackets, check shirts, Burberry rain macs, and a perpetual woollen...
The Soviet Prom by Neil Herrington
Wednesday, 21 August 1968
The moment you and Slava enter the dining room, he throws himself on the first person he sees, kisses both of...
Child of Vengeance by David Kirk
Excerpt from Chapter One
The battle was over, but still Kazuteru ran. He had duty to fulfil. The young samurai ignored the howling of his...