The Reading Life Katherine Mansfield Project
If this short story had been finished it would be counted among the best ever written-
"A Married Man's Story" by Katherine Mansfield (1888 to 1923-New Zealand) is one of the unfinished stories her husband, John Middleton Murry, included in his collection of her work, The Dove's Nest and Other Stories published in 1923, shortly after her death.
I am very nearly done with my first reading of all of Mansfield's stories with only one to go. (I am reading the stories for now as they appear in the four books for her stories reproduced on the great New Zealand Electronic Text Center maintained by the Victoria University of Wellington. I know there are a few stories not in these collections and I hope to read them soon. My goal was to read everything online, in part so others can share the experience if they like.) I hope to read a new biography on Mansfield as well as a novel based on her life in December, both of which will be offered in give a way events.
"A Married Man's Story" reads like a finished story. I think if this story were among the completed works of Mansfield it would treated as one the best her short stories and would find itself on many "best short stories of the world lists". It may well have an autobiographical import to anyone pondering the marriage of Mansfield to John Murry. It is a bold unconventional look at marriage told from a man's point of view but I think anyone would be made to think about their own relationships by this story. Of course it is beautifully done.
I have one short story to go. After I finish that post, hopefully tomorrow, I will do a post in which I suggest five of her stories to read and the reasons behind my selections. It will not be a "best of Mansfield" list so much as a sampling list. I know what the most assigned in schools world wide of her stories are and will take that into account also.
Mel u
If this short story had been finished it would be counted among the best ever written-
"A Married Man's Story" by Katherine Mansfield (1888 to 1923-New Zealand) is one of the unfinished stories her husband, John Middleton Murry, included in his collection of her work, The Dove's Nest and Other Stories published in 1923, shortly after her death.
I am very nearly done with my first reading of all of Mansfield's stories with only one to go. (I am reading the stories for now as they appear in the four books for her stories reproduced on the great New Zealand Electronic Text Center maintained by the Victoria University of Wellington. I know there are a few stories not in these collections and I hope to read them soon. My goal was to read everything online, in part so others can share the experience if they like.) I hope to read a new biography on Mansfield as well as a novel based on her life in December, both of which will be offered in give a way events.
"A Married Man's Story" reads like a finished story. I think if this story were among the completed works of Mansfield it would treated as one the best her short stories and would find itself on many "best short stories of the world lists". It may well have an autobiographical import to anyone pondering the marriage of Mansfield to John Murry. It is a bold unconventional look at marriage told from a man's point of view but I think anyone would be made to think about their own relationships by this story. Of course it is beautifully done.
I have one short story to go. After I finish that post, hopefully tomorrow, I will do a post in which I suggest five of her stories to read and the reasons behind my selections. It will not be a "best of Mansfield" list so much as a sampling list. I know what the most assigned in schools world wide of her stories are and will take that into account also.
Mel u
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