Stories from the Five Towns

This book created by an English writer and journalist was published in 1905. There are four short stories about people from five towns. The stories are filled with irony, satire and easiness. The cycle opens with the 'News of the Engagement'. This story is about one son who tries to tell his mother about his engagement. He does not know how to do it better as she is a widow and he is her only child. In the story, 'The Burglary' the judge arranges a burglary in his own house to get rid of a strange portrait of himself. 'Beginning the New Year' is about a man who returned home after 23 years. 'The Silent Brothers' is about two brothers who have not spoken to each other for ten years. They make a marriage proposal to the same girl in order to get money by will.