Five stories from influential women writers from the close of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. New Zealand-born, Katherine Mansfield settled in England where she wrote a series of short stories that are widely recognised as among the finest of the 20th century for their economy, clarity, sensitivity and effect. The Garden Party is one of her most famous, while The Daughters of the Late Colonel shows how her wonderful sense of wit throws a shadow of poignance. Kate Chopin, writing in the last years of the 19th century, broke new ground with her daring view of women as individuals with human needs. Lilacs and Ma'ame Pelagie are sympathetic portraits of women with differing dilemmas. Woolf's The Mark on the Wall illustrates, in short story form, the turmoil within the stillness which became such a mark of her later novels.