The Ballad of the Sad Café by Carson McCullers was first published in 1951. The original book (shown at right) included, in addition to the title novella, Carson’s other major works of fiction. In later editions, the title novella is presented with six short stories, as follows:

• “The Ballad of the Sad Café”
• “Wunderkind”
• “The Jockey”
• “Madame Zilensky and the King of Finland”
• “The Sojourner”
• “A Domestic Dilemma”
• “A Tree, a Rock, a Cloud”

The title story, written in the genre of Southern Gothic, concerns Miss Amelia, a masculine and eccentric woman (who is also a moonshiner), her purported cousin Lymon (a hunchback), and Marvin Macy, a recently released convict two whom Miss Amelia was briefly married. Read More→