For the first time, a compilation of Ellen Gilchrist's best & best-loved short stories, selected by the author herself from her fifteen previous works of fiction. With the publication of 1983's The Annunciation, Ellen Gilchrist established herself as a teller of charming, bittersweet tales of the modern South. Since then, her works of fiction - sixteen in all - have built up a solid base of dedicated fans. With her uncanny insights into human character & the bittersweet complications of love, Ellen Gilchrist occupies a unique place in American fiction.