Mansfield Stories Uncovered

Four previously unknown stories written more than a century ago by Katherine Mansfield have been discovered by Chris Mourant, 23, a PhD student at King’s College London. Any new material by Mansfield, who had a dramatic impact on short-story writing as an art form, is of interest. But this find is all the more exciting because it includes a story offering fascinating, autobiographical insight into one of the most painful chapters of her life — unrequited love, a marriage of convenience and a stillborn baby. Learning that the University of Edinburgh was to publish the first complete edition of Mansfield’s fiction, Mourant contacted Dr Gerri Kimber, senior lecturer at the University of Northampton and the edition’s co-editor with Vincent O’Sullivan. They were just about to send the first volume to press. “My jaw dropped,” Kimber said. Three are charming, children’s fairy tales from 1908 and the fourth has “huge biographical significance”, Kimber said, describing it as “brilliant” and “unputdownable”.