Description

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Acclaimed in England, these wicked and wonderfully entertaining novellas deal with the infinite human capacity for deception and self-deception. The four stories in this remarkably assured work are beautifully shaped and deftly plotted; each is narrated by a richly distinctive voice, and each ends with a genuine surprise. The themes are wide-ranging: the mysteries of identity, the pitfalls of intellectual arrogance, the damage wrought by cleverness, the role of time in human affairs.
SEVERAL DECEPTIONS is a dazzling debut; it gleams with intelligence and wit.

About the Author

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JANE STEVENSON was born in London and brought up in London, Beijing, and Bonn. She teaches literature and history at the University of Aberdeen. She is the author of Several Deceptions, a collection of four novellas; a novel, London Bridges; and the acclaimed historical trilogy made up of the novels The Winter Queen, The Shadow King, and The Empress of the Last Days. Stevenson lives in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Praise For…

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"Four exquisitely crafted novellas introduce a brilliant new writer." --Harpers & Queen

“An impressive first collection . . . These stories are refreshingly, unapologetically erudite. They are also extremely funny.”

Observer

“Here is a gossipy, smart, critical, intellectual, high-spirited and literate voice. It is like a secret retreat where readers can simply rejoice in intelligent, stylish prose.”

Times Literary Supplement

"Witty . . . cultured and ironic . . . lavish and precise at evoking place through culture and language."

The San Diego Union-Tribune

"Like a small box of chocolate truffles, these delicious novellas. . . should be carried in a handbag or briefcase . . . for a quick hit of wit or the jolt of a . . . clever surprise ending." USA Today —