Maiden Stakes

Maiden Stakes is a 1928 collection of short stories by the English author Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer) originally written for The Windsor Magazine.

Maiden Stakes
First edition
AuthorDornford Yates
GenreNovel
PublisherWard Lock & Co[1]
Publication date
1928[2]
Media typePrint
Pages319[1]

Plot

The book largely consists of stand-alone short stories, but one ("Letters Patent") features the author's 'Berry' characters and references his 1928 novel Perishable Goods.

Background

The stories were originally written for The Windsor Magazine. Most had been published separately there before their collected publication in Maiden Stakes, but the final four appeared later.[3]

Chapters
Chapter Title Windsor Date Volume Issue Pages Illustrator
I Childish Things July 1925 LXII 366 121-133 Albert Bailey
II St. Jeames August 1927 LXVI 392 265-277 Lindsay Cable
III Aesop's Fable October 1927 LXVII 394 513-524 Lindsay Cable
IV Vanity Of Vanities January 1928 LXVIII 397 170-180 Norah Schlegel
V Force Majeure March 1928 LXVIII 399 386-398 Henry Coller
VI Bricks Without Straw December 1927 LXVIII 396 21-31 Lindsay Cable
VII 'Service' April 1929 LXIX 412 593-608 P B Hickling
VIII In Evidence February 1929 LXIX 410 289-302 J Dewar Mills
IX Maiden Stakes March 1929 LXIX 411 451-465 R Allen Shuffrey
X Letters Patent January 1929 LXIX 409 157-169 Lindsay Cable

"Childish Things" and "Aesop's Fable" appeared in The Saturday Evening Post editions of 27 June 1925 and 10 September 1927 respectively. "St Jeames" appeared in Ladies' Home Journal in August 1927.

Critical reception

The book was written at a difficult time for Mercer, when relations between him and his wife Bettine were getting steadily worse.[4] Nevertheless, the original dedication read "To the American girl who did me the lasting honour to become my wife."

References
  1. "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  2. Smithers 1982, p. 231.
  3. Smithers 1982, p. 144.
  4. Smithers 1982, p. 145.

Bibliography
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