The Pool in the Desert, originally published in 1903, is a collection of four stories that illustrates the blend of sympathy and ironic detachment with which Sara Jeannette Duncan portrayed the British presence in India. Explores the impact of isolation on the small British communities of Victorian India. In the four stories collected here-"The Pool in the Desert," "A Mother in India," "An Impossible Ideal," and "The Hesitation of Miss Anderson"-Duncan's women have certain freedoms living amidst the reaches of Empire "The Pool in the Desert represents the climate of desire that defined the New Woman, and that animated Sara Jeannette Duncan in her striving for personal and professional achievement." - Misao Dean, University of Victoria