In episode four of The Long and Short, we turn to the squarely modernist Katherine Mansfield, whose writing famously attracted the envy of Virginia Woolf. Mark and Seamus discuss the decisive break modernist story makes from its 19th century predecessors, exemplified in Mansfield’s work. At turns lyrical, ruthless, moving and darkly comic, these stories demonstrate her knack for close observation and mimicry – no wonder one of them is Mark’s ‘desert island’ story.
This is an extract from the episode. To listen in full and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up here: https://lrb.me/closereadings
Further Reading:
Michael Holroyd: Bogey's Clean Sweep
Kirsty Gunn: How the Laundry Basket Squeaked
