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.
- ISBN10 1448128196
- ISBN13 9781448128198
- Publish Date 17 November 2011
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 16 September 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Vintage Publishing
- Imprint Vintage Digital
- Edition Digital original
- Format eBook (EPUB)
- Pages 24
- Language English