The Garden Party

The band struck up; the hired waiters ran from the house to the marquee. Wherever you looked there were couples strolling, bending to the flowers, greeting, moving on over the lawn. They were like bright birds that had alighted in the Sheridans’ garden for this one afternoon, on their way to – where? Ah, what happiness it is to be with people who all are happy, to press hands, press cheeks, smile into eyes.

First published in 1922, The Garden Party is a treasured short story by one of the prime innovators of the genre. Basking in the perfection of a splendid summer day, the prosperous Sheridan family is set to host a garden party at their estate. Amid the arrangements, a worker unexpectedly dies. Yet the family refuses to cancel the party, despite the youngest daughter, Laura’s, remonstrations. Strong emotions bubble to the surface when her mother insists that she should be the one to deliver a basket of leftovers to the grieving family as a gesture of sympathy.

The New Zealand-British author Katherine Mansfield is considered one of the most influential and foremost short story writers of the early 20th century. The Garden Party is a vivid example of both her narrative style and her ability to subtly depict class differences and conflicts in human relationships.