Till The Cows Come Home The World S Smallest Unicorn Storycuts

In 'Till the Cows Come Home', Bonfire Night 1956 is fast approaching, and while mother-of-one Ruby proudly carries her immaculate 'Bonfire Cake' into the middle room, her devilish daughter Garnet is upstairs tormenting her school friend and temporary houseguest, Jane. Abruptly, we leave this story and are transported to 1993 where Garnet, addressing the reader, begins to tell her own tale, and ponders the distorting and lingering effects of nostalgia. In 'The World's Smallest Unicorn', Teddy arrives on the doorstep of his brother and sister-in-law after being made redundant following twenty years spent in Hong Kong. Despite his warm affection for his nieces and the conciliatory gifts he presents the family with, he can't help noticing his sister-in-law's hostility and impatience with his presence. However, as a tangled history of the family's relationships begins to reveal itself, it becomes clear that the cause of Fan's irritation may not be what it first appears. Part of the Storycuts series, these two stories were previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

In 'The Most Beautiful Dress in the World', recovering alcoholic Harriet steps out into the garden of her grey, dilapidated house on an autumn day. It is daughter Miranda's first day at Fashion College, and Harriet is determined to make the most of the peace and quiet. However, when good intentions go awry, Harriet's initial optimism disintegrates into a caustic mixture of despair and self-loathing, building to a terrible and violent crescendo. In 'Cardboard City', Stella and Vanessa are young sisters who live in the shadow of their hated stepfather. They escape his overbearing presence for an afternoon of Christmas shopping in central London, where Stella can't help wistfully searching for their estranged real father in a nearby bar. The crowded streets of the city soon exhaust their money and patience, and they decide to return home, but not before Vanessa spies a familiar face on an escalator at the station . . . Part of the Storycuts series, these two stories were previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

Mavis is the receptionist at a doctor's surgery and an incorrigible busy-body. When she unwittingly discovers an illicit affair, an appointment is made with calamity. What follows is a bitter-sweet and beautifully observed account of thwarted love. Part of the Storycuts series, this story was previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

Having left his first wife for the then 19-year old Barbara, Ian - now waiting in a cafe for his 18-year old mistress, Laura - clearly has no intentions of breaking the habit of a lifetime. Barbara, meanwhile, burns with feverish guilt at the remembrance of a recent holiday fling with a Jamaican bartender. When Barbara's mother Molly comes to visit her fragile daughter and chaotic grandchildren, it is she who must attempt to plaster over the cracks rapidly widening throughout this family. Part of the Storycuts series, this story was previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

In 'Pink Cigarettes', a schoolboy grows tired of his relationship with an aging poet, who is becoming a greater draw on his time by the day. But when it looks as though his behaviour will break the old man's heart, he must listen closely to his own feelings. In 'Babies in Rhinestones', the Alfred Ellis School of Fine Art and the Araidne School Elliot School of Dance and Drama stand side by side, much to their proprietors' dismay. The two trade insults daily as they exchange the mail that so often ends up in the wrong letterbox. The tension increases when the owners find that they have adopted the same stray cat. Part of the Storycuts series, these two stories were previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

Neville is captivated by the story of his distant aunt, a Victorian woman who set up a school for sickly children. But visiting the part of London where he grew up stirs up memories of his own childhood and personal history, causing him to re-assess his outlook in the present day. Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

"A wolf pack's alpha gets a disappointing surpirse when his first born son is not like a normal wolf, but rather one who has fallen for a coyote"--