Smut: Stories

One of England's finest and most loved writers explores the uncomfortable and tragicomic gap between people's public appearance and their private desires in two tender and surprising stories.

In The Greening of Mrs. Donaldson, a recently bereaved widow finds interesting ways to supplement her income by performing as a patient for medical students, and renting out her spare room. Quiet, middle-class, and middle-aged, Mrs. Donaldson will soon discover that she rather enjoys role-play at the hospital, and the irregular and startling entertainment provided by her tenants.

In The Shielding of Mrs. Forbes, a disappointed middle-aged mother dotes on her only son, Graham, who believes he must shield her from the truth. As Graham's double life becomes increasingly complicated, we realize how little he understands, not only of his own desires but also those of his mother.

A master storyteller dissects a very English form of secrecy with two stories of the unexpected in otherwise apparently ordinary lives.

Author: Alan Bennett
Publisher: Picador USA
Published: 01/03/2012
Pages: 160
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.31lbs
Size: 7.32h x 4.71w x 0.45d
ISBN: 9781250003164

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 10/24/2011 pg. 32
New Yorker (The) 11/07/2011 pg. 82
Library Journal 12/01/2011 pg. 119
Booklist 12/01/2011 pg. 24
Shelf Awareness 01/03/2012
New York Times Book Review 01/01/2012 pg. 11
New York Times Book Review 01/08/2012 pg. 26
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2012

About the Author

Alan Bennett has been one of England's leading dramatists since the success of Beyond the Fringe. The History Boys won six Tony Awards; his most recent play is The Habit of Art.

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