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This is a 420 page doorstop of a book, containing just under a century's worth of prose. The first story is Sarah Orne Jewett's Martha's Lady (1897); the last, Jeanette Winterson's The Poetics of Sex (1993). Despite the title, not everything in here is a short story - there's an extract from Beebo Brinker, and part of a lecture by Virginia Woolf.

It sits very much at the literary end of things, often wandering off into the downright experimental, and I sometimes felt that it took itself a little too seriously. But it took its contents seriously, too, and it was pleasing to see facsimile reproductions of parts of The Ladies' Almanack (which I'm sure is hilarious if one knew any of the ladies) and a comic strip by Alison Bechdel. I'd be really interested to see what might be included in an updated edition.

el_staplador

This is an eclectic collection, containing several short stories, a couple of extracts from full-length novels, and the full text of J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla. There are all sorts of vampires, from the merely misunderstood to the out and out evil; the settings range from Countess Báthory's Hungary to outer space, via nineteenth century Louisiana; the styles are equally eclectic. I wasn't convinced about the inclusion of novel extracts, which felt a bit unsatisfying to me (while still not really motivating me to go out and find the books).

But overall this was an interesting sampler, and I particularly enjoyed Pam Keesey's introduction, where she gives an overview of the lesbian vampire genre on the page and and the screen. It would be interesting to see an updated edition: this book is getting on for three decades old now, and my assumption (possibly incorrect) is that there would be quite a lot more to add.