To Cut a Long Story Short

by Jeffrey Archer

Overview

These fourteen stories show Jeffrey Arche&rgrave;s great skills with a wide variety of character, of subject and of setting, but all with that trademark twist in the tail. Every reader will have their own favourites: the choices run from love at first sight across the train tracks to the cleverest of confidence tricks, from the quirks of the legal profession x and those who are able to manipulate both sides of the Bar x to the creative financial talents of a member of Her Majest&ygrave;s diplomatic service x but for a good cause. The last story, 'The Grass is Always Greene&rgrave;, is possibly the best piece Archer has written, and will haunt you for the rest of your life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9788177662948
Publisher:	Mehta Publishing House
Publication date:	09/01/2013
Pages:	258
Sales rank:	1,080,480
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.58(d)
Language:	Marathi

About the Author

JEFFREY ARCHER was educated at Oxford University. He served five years as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons and has served twenty-six years as a Member of the House of Lords. Now published in 97 countries and more than 37 languages, all of his novels and short story collections—including Kane & Abel, Only Time Will Tell and This Was a Man—have been international bestsellers. Jeffrey is married with two sons and three grandchildren, and lives in London, Cambridge and Majorca.

Hometown:

London and the Old Vicarage, Grantchester

Date of Birth:

April 15, 1940

Education:

Attended Brasenose College, Oxford, 1963-66. Received a diploma in sports education from Oxford Institute

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the market-place I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture; now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there death will not find me. The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down to the market-place and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.

The Expert Witness

'Damn good drive,' said Toby, as he watched his opponent's ball sail through the air. 'Must be every inch of 230, perhaps even 250 yards,' he added, as he held up his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun, and continued to watch the ball bouncing down the middle of the fairway.

'Thank you,' said Harry.

'What did you have for breakfast this morning, Harry?' Toby asked when the ball finally came to a halt.

'A row with my wife,' came back his opponent's immediate reply. 'She wanted me to go shopping with her this morning.'

'I'd be tempted to get married if I thought itwould improve my golf that much,' said Toby as he addressed his ball. 'Damn,' he added a moment later, as he watched his feeble effort squirt towards the heavy rough no more than a hundred yards from where he stood.

Toby's game did not improve on the back nine, and when they headed for the clubhouse just before lunch, he warned his opponent, 'I shall have to take my revenge in court next week.'

'I do hope not,' said Harry, with a laugh.

'Why's that?' asked Toby as they entered the clubhouse.

'Because I'm appearing as an expert witness on your side,' Harry replied as they sat down for lunch.

'Funny,' Toby said. 'I could have sworn you were against me.'

Sir Toby Gray QC and Professor Harry Bamford were not always on the same side when they met up in court.

'All manner of persons who have anything to do before My Lords the Queen's Justices draw near and give your attendance.'

The Leeds Crown Court was now sitting. Mr. Justice Fenton presided.

Sir Toby eyed the elderly judge. A decent and fair man, he considered, though his summings-up, could be a trifle long-winded. Mr Justice Fenton nodded down from the bench.

Sir Toby rose from his place, to open the defence case. 'May it please Your Lordship, members of the jury, I am aware of the great responsibility that rests on my shoulders. To defend a man charged with murder can never be easy. It is made even more difficult when the victim is his wife, to whom he had been happily married for over twenty years. This the Crown has accepted, indeed formally admitted.

'My task is not made any easier, m'lud,' continued Sir Toby, 'when all the circumstantial evidence, so adroitly presented by my learned friend Mr Rodgers in his opening speech yesterday, would on the face of it make the defendant appear guilty. However,' said Sir Toby, grasping the tapes of his black silk gown and turning to face the jury, 'I intend to call a witness whose reputation is beyond reproach. I am confident that he will leave you, members of the jury, with little choice but to return a verdict of not guilty. I call Professor Harold Bamford.'

A smartly dressed man, wearing a blue double-breasted suit, white shirt and a Yorkshire County Cricket Club tie, entered the courtroom and took his place in the witness box. He was presented with a copy of the New Testament, and read the oath with a confidence that would have left no member of the jury in any doubt that this wasn't his first appearance at a murder trial...

Table of Contents

	Preface	9
	Death Speaks	11
	The Expert Witness	15
	The Endgame	29
	The Letter	79
	Crime Pays	87
	Chalk and Cheese	109
	A Change of Heart	127
	Too Many Coincidences	139
	Love at First Sight	171
	Both Sides Against the Middle	177
	A Weekend to Remember	189
	Something for Nothing	205
	Other Blighters' Efforts	217
	The Reclining Woman	241
	The Grass Is Always Greener...	251
	Based on true incidents

Editorial Reviews

Our Review
Cutting to the Chase
Rarely has the title of a book been so apt as that of Jeffrey Archer's latest collection of short fiction, To Cut a Long Story Short. Some of these tales are only two or three pages long, and Archer acknowledges that he's making an effort to play to the minimalist strengths of parables and fables. More than half of these pieces are based on true stories with reaffirming, positive messages, and more often than not they feature O. Henry-type twist endings.

Standouts include "A Change of Heart," where a prejudiced white South African man learns the error of his ways when his life is saved by a black benefactor. "The Letter" is a clever and entertaining read about a woman who receives a letter from her lover that she proceeds to read at the breakfast table across from her oblivious husband. In "Too Many Coincidences," a wife forfeits her husband in order to marry the gentleman of her dreams, only to learn too late that what appears to be too good to be true, often is.

One of the best representations of Archer's narrative skills is in "The Endgame," the longest piece in the collection. Wealthy entrepreneur Cornelius Barrington decides to test those people closest to him in an effort to find out their true characters. Barrington, with his closest friend and lawyer, Frank Vincent, devises a plan where he claims bankruptcy and willingly puts his mansion and all his many treasures up on the bidding block. Barrington had previously made loans to his brother, sister, nephew and housekeeper and now asks that they be repaid immediately. As he suspects, his family members begin to show their true colors when arguing over his fortune and making exorbitant bids on their favorite items in his house, even while failing to repay their debts. Here, Archer puts all of his talent to good use in presenting a tale full of well-wrought characterization, playful subplots, and a cheerful atmosphere that still offers up all the moral imperative of a refined allegory.

The red herrings abound as Archer weaves lighthearted, sometimes whimsical stories with an air of intrigue. To Cut a Long Story Short will allow the reader a chance to delve deep into the rich textures and inventive surprises of classically well-told tales.

--Tom Piccirilli

Tom Piccirilli is the author of eight novels, including Hexes, Shards, and his Felicity Grove mystery series, consisting of The Dead Past and Sorrow's Crown. He has sold more than 100 stories to the anthologies Future Crimes, Bad News, The Conspiracy Files, and Best of the American West II. An omnibus collection of 40 stories titled )Deep into That Darkness Peering is also available. Tom divides his time between New York City and Estes Park, Colorado.

bn.com

This collection of sometimes intriguing, sometimes obvious stories is best suited to a series of short car trips rather than one long one: the listener tends to catch on fast to the O'Henry-esque endings, so the stories are less entertaining all at a gulp. And some might well have been cut shorter. Archer is least successful when the surprise endings turn solely on legal technicalities--as in "Crime Pays" and "Both Sides Against the Middle"--but a lot of fun when he interweaves legal issues with the relationships among the characters--as he does so well in "The Expert Witness" and "The End Game." These two particular stories also work well because, just when listeners think they've got the surprise ending, the plot thickens and twists again and then again. Some of the pieces are based on true incidents. In "A Change of Heart," for example, a South African bigot causes a car accident. The driver of the other car dies, and the bigot's life is saved by a heart transplant--the heart of the black man he killed in the accident. These are lighthearted stories, and Bill Wallace's reading is marvelous. He has a pleasing voice and crisp British accent that are entirely appropriate here, and he knows how to handle humor, irony and character differentiation without overdoing it. Simultaneous release with the HarperCollins hardcover (Forecasts, Dec. 11, 2000). (Jan.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Thrillmeister Archer cuts to the chase: a new collection of short stories. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

Library Journal

"Archer plots with skill, and keeps you turning the pages." — Boston Globe

"Cunning plots, silken style...Archer plays a cat-and-mouse game with the reader." — New York Times

"One of the most captivating storytellers writing today." — Pittsburgh Press

"A storyteller whose words enthrall millions of readers." — Denver Post

"Archer is a master entertainer." — Time

"Man, Can Archer Spin A Tale." — Los Angeles Times

"Very entertaining." — Land Line Magazine

From the Publisher

"Cunning plots, silken style...Archer plays a cat-and-mouse game with the reader."

New York Times

"Very entertaining."

Land Line Magazine

"A storyteller whose words enthrall millions of readers."

Denver Post

"One of the most captivating storytellers writing today."

Pittsburgh Press

"Archer plots with skill, and keeps you turning the pages."

Boston Globe

"Archer is a master entertainer."

Time

"Man, Can Archer Spin A Tale."

|Los Angeles Times

"Archer is a master entertainer."

Time

"Man, Can Archer Spin A Tale."

Los Angeles Times