AustLit

'The seven stories in this selection span Clarke's early career, ranging from The Woman in Question, a drug affected man who is unable to let go of the woman he loves that ultimately leads him to the person responsible for her death. In The Wager, an unscrupulous man bets that a black servant won't be accepted into English high society; in The Unyielding Wind, Clarke reimagines the myth of Pan and Syrinx; and in Stabat Mater, an unhappy wife discovers her husband is having an affair with her sister that leads to a chain reaction resulting in murder and moral depravity. The haunting, The Unobtainable Agnes depicts a young man's love for an older woman, who happens to be a nun and the resulting emotional tension that follows. Beautifully drawn, Clarke's stories are as rich and resonant as his novels.' (Publication summary)