{"product_id":"9781448215249","title":"Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal and Other Stories","description":"First published in 1961, \u003ci\u003eNow Sleeps the Crimson Petal \u003c\/i\u003eand Other Stories is a collection full of light and shade, setting sensitive character studies against Bates's signature vibrant, delicate imagery.  A fussy and obsessive golfer encounters a troubled young woman at a wind-swept beach in 'Lost Ball', a retired Colonel, isolated and suffering from dementia, suddenly rejects the friendship of his charming neighbour when she acquires a television in 'Where the Cloud Breaks'.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe title story, 'Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal,' takes its name from a Tennyson poem and is a picture of social change in post-war rural England. It draws a portrait of a sheltered and uncultured butcher's wife exposed to a new tenant in the countryside – a flamboyant homosexual who delights in throwing large parties. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOf the collection as a whole, the \u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e says the stories 'all confirm Mr Bates's position in the first rank of contemporary short-story writers.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlso included in this collection is bonus story 'The Grace Note', first published in the \u003ci\u003eFortnightly\u003c\/i\u003e in 1936. It is a humorous tale of the Chipperfields, a family of brass players devoted to music, but whose jealousy and stubbornness dashes their dreams of a Chipperfield band and tears the family apart.","brand":"Bloomsbury USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47155415122160,"sku":"9781448215249","price":5.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781448215249_p0.jpg?v=1763830279","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781448215249","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}