A new collection of stories from A. S. Byatt is always a winner, and this one takes an unexpected turn, bringing shivers as well as delights. Leaves rustle underfoot in a dark wood: two middle-aged woman walk into a forest, as they did when they were girls, confronting their fears and memories and the strange thing they saw in their childhood - or thought they saw - so long ago. A man meets the ghost of his living wife; a woman turns inexorably, but beautifully, to stone. A distinguished obstetrician and a young woman artist find they have sharply contrasting ideas about body parts, birth and death; an innocent member of an evening class harbours unexpected views on ‘raw material’-The stories in this marvellous collection are by turns funny, spooky, sparkling and haunting. THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK holds its secrets, adding a dark quality to Byatt’s famous skill in mixing folk and fairy tale with everyday life.