And Five Were Foolish

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And Five Were Foolish
And Five Were Foolish dustjacket.jpg
1943 dustjacket
Author Dornford Yates
GenreNovel
Publisher Ward Lock & Co [1]
Publication date
1924 [1]
Media typePrint
Pages311 [1]

And Five Were Foolish is a 1924 collection of short stories by the English author Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer), first published in The Windsor Magazine . [2] The title is a reference to the Parable of the Ten Virgins.

Contents

Plot

The book consists of ten short stories, several of which were inspired by incidents and places known to Mercer. [3] The title of each is the name of a significant female character. [4]

Background

The stories were written for The Windsor Magazine , whose readers had been "clamouring for more". [4]

Chapters

ChapterBook TitleWindsor TitleDateVolumeIssuePagesIllustrator
ISarahFalse PretencesNovember 1922LVI335591-684Henry Coller
IIMadeleineFine LinenOctober 1922LVI334463-473E G Oakdale
IIIKatharineThree's CompanyOctober 1923LVIII346493-506Norah Schlegel
IVSpringGroom Of The ChambersNovember 1923LVIII347587-600Norah Schlegel
VElizabethA Drink DivineDecember 1923LIX3483-14Norah Schlegel
VIJoPrivate PapersJanuary 1924LIX349115-127Norah Schlegel
VIIAthaliaA Fool's ErrandFebruary 1924LIX350233-246Norah Schlegel
VIIIAnnMesallianceApril 1924LIX352505-523Norah Schlegel
IXEleanorA Private ScandalMarch 1924LIX351347-359Norah Schlegel
XSusanNoblesse ObligeMay 1924LIX353573-578Norah Schlegel

Critical reception

The collected volume was a significant success, and was reprinted seven times before the coming of war in 1939. [5]

The original dustjacket had the following quote -

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  2. Smithers 1982, p. 103.
  3. Smithers 1982, pp. 118–125.
  4. 1 2 Smithers 1982, p. 118.
  5. Smithers 1982, p. 122.

Bibliography