A. S. Byatt, Elementals: Stories of Fire and Ice

Emma Victoria Miller (University of Durham)
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Elementals

was Byatt’s third collection of short stories to be published. It followed

Sugar and Other Stories

(1987), the

Matisse Stories

(1993), the

Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye: Five Fairy Stories

(1994), and preceded the

Little Black Book of Stories

which appeared in 2003.

Elementals contains six short stories and mixes the fantastic with the realistic in one volume, sometimes in the same story. “Crocodile Tears” starts the volume and features an apparently ordinary middle aged couple, Patricia and Tony Nimmo, who spend their weekends in art galleries. On the occasion recounted they have an unnecessary and unimportant argument over an installation, which inadvertently leads to Tony having a heart attack. Patricia, whose initial irritation had led her to abandon her husband in

2661 words

Citation: Miller, Emma Victoria. "Elementals: Stories of Fire and Ice". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 January 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5393, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5393 Elementals: Stories of Fire and Ice 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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