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Extremely Entertaining Short Stories
— Classic Works of a Master
by Stacy AUMONIER
[• click here for an outline of the life and work of this author •]
[• click on cover image, or here, to browse sample pages of this book on PDF >] 
Stories of World War I and of the 1920s
Selected (2011) for Afternoon Reading by BBC Radio 4.
Readings from this book have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 (and on BBC iPlayer) during March 2011—
'The Brown Wallet' read by actor Mark Heap, and abridged for BBC Radio4 by Neville Teller. It was recorded in Belfast, with Producer/Director Laura Conway.
'A Source Of Irritation' read by actor Mark Addy, and abridged for BBC Radio4 by Neville Teller. It was recorded in Belfast, with Producer/Director Michael Shannon.
'The Room' read by actor Mathew Horne, and abridged for BBC Radio4 by Neville Teller. It was recorded in Belfast, with Producer/Director Laura Conway.
'…the recently published collection of Aumonier's Extremely Entertaining Short Stories has certainly helped bring this overlooked talent to a new audience. Aumonier's stories are not only hilarious, full of wit and genuine warmth for his subjects, but also beautifully constructed insights into the various absurdities of human behaviour, be it in the drawing rooms of London high society or the trenches of World War I.' —BBC Radio 4 Programmes, 2011.
'Stacy Aumonier is one of the best short story writers of all time. His humour is sly and dry and frequent… And can't he write!'
—John Galsworthy (winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature).
'I think his very best works ought to be included in any anthology of the best short stories ever written.'
—James Hilton (author of Goodbye Mr Chips, and Lost Horizon), 1939.
'… in England, my first trip there in 25 years … I bought the new Phaeton collection of Extremely Entertaining Short Stories by Stacy Aumonier … Back now in New York, it's a heavy volume to cart back and forth as subway reading, but it's well worth the weight!' —Margaret Heilbrun, Library Journal, New York, 2009.
'… a very elegant volume … short stories that invite comparison with those of Saki, O.Henry and even Guy de Maupassant.' —Books Ireland.
'… a great holiday read.' —Brentano's, Paris.
'Forgotten Author, Stacy Aumonier … , like O.Henry and Saki, could condense a life into a few pages. … In the 1920s, he became unrivalled as a short story writer. … Perfect with a hot toddy on a cold night.' —Christopher Fowler, The Independent, London, 2011.
The Author
[• for a fuller description of his life and work, click here •]
Stacy Aumonier was born in London in 1877 and died in Switzerland in 1928.
It was as a short-story writer that he was most highly regarded. Nobel Prize winner John Galsworthy described Stacy Aumonier as “one of the best short-story writers of all time” and predicted that, through the best of his stories, he would “outlive all the writers of his day.”
James Hilton (author of Goodbye Mr Chips and Lost Horizon) said of Aumonier:
“I think his very best works ought to be included in any anthology of the best short stories ever written.” Asked to choose “My Favourite Short Story” for the March 1939 edition of Good Housekeeping, James Hilton chose a story by Aumonier, “The Octave of Jealousy”, which the magazine described as “a bitterly brilliant tale.”
Between 1913 and 1928, Stacy Aumonier published more than 87 short stories in more than 25 magazines; 6 novels; a volume of 15 essays; and a volume of 14 character studies.