Girl with Fan

Girl with Fan' is the first collection of short stories by Phil Parker. Ranging in focus from the dying days of Roman rule in Britain, via 14th century Norfolk after the Black Death, 19th century artistic Paris and turn of the 20th century Russia, to the Britain of today, these stories explore themes of identity, memory, shame, gender conflict, creativity, faith and the inescapable force, both for good and ill, of love. It is divided into three sections: 'The Self and Others'; 'The Arts Pages'; 'Amor Vicit Omnia - mostly...'.

Among the stories in this collection, 'Girl with Fan' is a fictional take on the back story behind a sequence of paintings by Renoir, as told from the perspective of Alphonsine Fournaise, the sitter. The constraints of growing up in a small Norfolk village are explored in the prize-winning story 'Ayesha'. In 'Interludes' a chance encounter on a train journey leads David to review his past, while making a shocking discovery about the present. A daughter discovers animal corpses in her ageing mother's freezer in 'In the Deep Freeze'. In 'Remember Me' a gentleman's companion helps his actor lover to stage one final performance. The collection concludes with 'The Night Shift', in which a newly-married couple argue about what to wear on their wedding night.