16 APRIL 1942, Page 22

The Modern Short Story. By H. E. Bates. (Nelson. 7s.

6d.)

THIS is an excellent little book, which describes the development of the English short story from Poe down to the present day, with chapters on the foreign writers--Gogol, Tchehov, Maupassant- who have principally influenced its growth. Mr. Bates has wisely not attempted to make his survey inclusive, but has concentrated on the writers whose influence has been decisive, and the book is an admirably sustained piece of critical writing that succeeds in saying almost everything that is to the point in very short' compass.