‘Brilliant … a panorama of a remarkable talent … McCullers’s finest stories’ The New York Times

A classic work that has charmed generations of readers, this collection assembles Carson McCullers’s best stories, including her beloved novella The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. A haunting tale of a human triangle that culminates in an astonishing brawl, the novella introduces readers to Miss Amelia, a formidable southern woman whose cafe serves as the town’s gathering place. Among other fine works, the collection also includes Wunderkind, McCullers’s first published story written when she was only seventeen about a musical prodigy who suddenly realizes she will not go on to become a great pianist.