The Birds and Other Stories

The Birds and Other Stories
The first UK edition under its original title, The Apple Tree
Author Daphne Du Maurier
Original title The Apple Tree
Cover artist Val Biro
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Publisher Gollancz
Publication date
 1952
Media type Print, audio and eBook
Pages 264
OCLC 1278358

The Birds and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by Daphne du Maurier, originally published in 1952 as The Apple Tree by Gollancz in the United Kingdom. It includes "The Birds," which was made into a film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock in 1963. The anthology was published in the United States as Kiss Me Again, Stranger by Doubleday[1] and then has been republished under the current name, The Birds and Other Stories.

Stories

  • "The Birds" tells of birds which inexplicably begin attacking man. It is told from the viewpoint of Nat Hocken, a farm worker in an English peninsula, and his family.
  • "Monte Verità" tells of an isolated mountain, home to a mysterious sect rumoured to be immortal and feared by the local communities from whom it attracts young women who are never heard of again. It is told from the viewpoint of a nameless mountaineer whose best friend's wife disappears on a trip to climb the peak. It is based on the actual colony of Monte Verità in Switzerland which preached a return to nature.
  • "The Apple Tree" follows the actions of a man who, following the death of his neglected wife, suspects her spirit inhabits an old apple tree in his garden which he resolves to remove, but never gets around to doing so.
  • "The Little Photographer" tells of a rich Marquise bored and dissatisfied with her life who attempts to spice up her life by having an affair with a photographer whilst holidaying on the French Mediterranean coast.
  • "Kiss Me Again, Stranger" in which a shy mechanic follows a cinema usherette home from work and is led to a cemetery. Only later does the mechanic discover the terrible truth about the usherette. A short film was later made, starring Leonard Nimoy and Juliet Mills.
  • "The Old Man" follows a family history as told by a neighbour who suspects the father of killing one of their children.

Reception

Reviewing the American edition in F&SF, Boucher and McComas noted that while nearly half the work fell into the fantasy genre, some bordering on science fiction, the stories were "largely overlong and not too original."[2]

Adaptations

  • For the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film, see The Birds (film)
  • For other adaptations of "The Birds" see "The Birds" (story)
  • "Kiss Me Again, Stranger" was adapted for television in 1953 as part of the Suspense US TV series.

Publication history

  • 1952, UK, Gollancz, Hardback (as The Apple Tree)
  • 1953, US, Doubleday, Hardback (as Kiss Me Again, Stranger)
  • 1963, UK, Pan, Paperback (as The Birds and Other Stories)
  • 1968, UK, Penguin, 0-14-001941-3, Paperback (as TheBirds and Other Stories)[3]
  • 1977, UK, Pan, ISBN 0-330-25081-7, Paperback (as The Birds and Other Stories)
  • 1987, US, Dell, ISBN 0-440-14576-7, Pub date 01 Apr 1987, Paperback (as The Birds and Other Stories)
  • 1992, UK, Arrow Books, ISBN 0-09-986640-4, Paperback (as The Birds and Other Stories)[4]
  • 1996, UK, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 1-85799-749-2, Paperback (as The Birds and Other Stories)[5]
  • 2003, UK, Virago, ISBN 1-84408-087-0, Paperback (as The Birds and Other Stories)

[6]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/d/daphne-du-maurier/kiss-me-again-stranger.htm Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  2. ↑ "Recommended Reading," F&SF, May 1953, p.91
  3. ↑ THE BIRDS AND OTHER STORIES. by DU MAURIER DAPHNE.: HARMONDSWORTH PENGUIN 9780140019414 n.i. - Pro Quo Books Retrieved 2012-09-02.
  4. ↑ The Birds and Other Stories by Daphne Du Maurier: Arrow Books Ltd 9780099866404 Paperback - The Perfect Used Book Store Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  5. ↑ The Birds, The (Phoenix 60p paperbacks) by Daphne Du Maurier: Weidenfeld & Nicolson History 9781857997491 Paperback - The Perfect Used Book Store Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  6. ↑ www.fantasticfiction.co.uk Retrieved 2012-11-18.
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