The Garden Party, and Other Stories
by Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923)
- Free to read
- 4 hours to read
- 24 chapters
- Reading level: 6th grade
"The Garden Party and Other Stories" by Katherine Mansfield is a collection of short stories written in the early 20th century. The stories explore themes of social class, identity, and the intricacies of human relationships, often set against the backdrop of the changing world of the time. The varied cast of characters, including the affluent Burnell family and their interactions with the working-class individuals around them, embodies the tensions and disconnections of different social strata. The opening of "The Garden Party" introduces a beautiful summer day filled with preparations for the titular garden party hosted by the Burnell family. The atmosphere is lively as Laura Burnell, the main character, navigates family dynamics while arranging the event. She interacts with the charismatic workmen setting up the marquee and contemplates her position within the established social order. Amid the joyful preparations, the news of a tragic accident—a local man’s death—complicates Laura’s feelings about the day, leading her to question the morality of celebrating such a moment when tragedy is occurring nearby. This sets the stage for a story rife with tension between personal sensibility and societal expectations.
- Short stories, New Zealand
- New Zealand · Social life and customs
Read the opening
Chapter I
Very early morning. The sun was not yet risen, and the whole of Crescent Bay was hidden under a white sea-mist. The big bush-covered hills at the back were smothered. You could not see where they ended and the paddocks and bungalows began. The sandy road was gone and the paddocks and bungalows the other side of it; there were no white dunes covered with reddish grass beyond them; there was nothing to mark which was beach and where was the sea. A heavy dew had fallen. The grass was blue. Big drops hung on the bushes and just did not fall; the silvery, fluffy toi-toi was limp on its long stalks, and all the marigolds and the pinks in the bungalow gardens were bowed to the earth with wetness. Drenched were the cold fuchsias, round pearls of dew lay on the flat nasturtium leaves. It looked as though the sea had beaten up softly in the darkness, as though one immense wave had come rippling, rippling—how far? Perhaps if you had waked up in the middle of the night you might have seen a big fish flicking in at the window and gone again....
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About this edition
This free edition of The Garden Party, and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #1429, released 1998-08-01. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Short Stories, British Literature.
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