Table of Contents
Introduction by Joyce Carol Oates Author's Note
The Innocents Abroad
Maggie Meriwether's Rich Experience
The Children's Game
The Echo and the Nemesis
The Maiden
A Modest Proposal
Caveat Emptor
The Bostonians, and Other Manifestations of the American Scene
Life Is No Abyss
The Hope Chest
Polite Conversation
A Country Love Story
The Bleeding Heart
The Lippia Lawn
The Interior Castle
Cowboys and Indians, and Magic Mountains
The Healthiest Girl in Town
The Tea Time of Stouthearted Ladies
The Mountain Day
The Darkening Moon
Bad Characters
In the Zoo
The Liberation
A Reading Problem
A Summer Day
The Philosophy Lesson
Manhattan Island
Children Are Bored on Sunday
Beatrice Trueblood's Story
Between the Porch and the Altar
I Love Someone
Cops and Robbers
The Captain's Gift
The End of a Career
An Influx of Poets
