In the Absence of Angels

**The debut short story collection that launched the career of one of the twentieth century’s most vivid writers, featuring the celebrated tale “In Greenwich There Are Many Gravelled Walks”**

In this captivating collection of fifteen short stories, many of which first appeared in the *New Yorker*, Hortense Calisher’s lyrical prose captures the quotidian lives of individuals dealing with alienation, loneliness, and assimilation. Highly influenced by her own New York upbringing, Calisher brings an all-knowing and compassionate verve to these intimate stories.

The opening piece, “In Greenwich There Are Many Gravelled Walks,” is an elegantly constructed tale of a man who becomes particularly introspective after dropping his loving but alcoholic mother off at a sanitarium. In “Heartburn,” Calisher deftly sketches a time and place through portraits of watering holes that resemble their own camaraderie-filled communities. The unforgettable title story captures the end of a love affair.

With her distinctive language and psychological clarity, Calisher meticulously builds truths through her characters and their understandings.