Mr. Wrong

Mr. Wrong / Elizabeth Jane Howard
London: Pan, 1993, c1975.
223 p.

This collection of nine short stories was not what I expected. The title story leads the collection, and it is much darker than I had anticipated. I wish I would have known that it was a horror story before I began - it was very unsettling indeed!  In fact it coloured the rest of the book for me, even though the rest of the stories are not really horror. I didn't actually like this story very much; sometimes I can admire even if it's not for me, but this one left a bad taste. 

There are other stories here that are looking at dysfunctional or unhappy families - Whip Hand or Pont au Gard are examples, showing difficult mother-daughter dynamics or couples confessing affairs. But there are a couple of others that are more charming, even if a bit edgy, like Toutes Directions. 

Overall the stories are well crafted, with a real focus on character. The settings do evoke an England of a certain time and focus; this was published in 1975, and I find many books by English women from this time period to have this kind of female struggle as a key element. It's a bit dark though, and I'm not sure I'd look for any of her work again if this had been my first read by her. If you like horror tales or an atmosphere of angst in your short stories, you may like this collection.