Good evening and welcome to the sleepy bookshelf.

This season, ahead of our next season on the main feed,

we would like to bring you a short story titled At the Bay by Catherine Mansfield,

exclusively for our premium supporters.

Catherine Mansfield was a prolific writer, born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand.

Her short stories and poems explore themes of her own identity, along the backdrop of a country coming of age.

She left New Zealand at age 19 to come to London, where she became friends with D.H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf,

and Lady Oteline Morrell, but sadly died from tuberculosis in France, aged just

34.

From her journals, she wrote openly of her romances with men, but two prominent loves

in her life were with women, and so we are celebrating her this tune.

At the Bay is a short story in three parts, chosen from her collection, The Garden Party,

and other stories published in 1922.

It was originally published in 12 parts in the London Mercury,

but was included in this anthology in the same year.

It explores one day in the lives of the Bernal family,

living in Crescent Bay, beginning at sunrise and ending at sunset. The story explores themes of femininity, societal roles, and the very human search for connection.

We hope you will join us for this season.

However, if you decide that this short story isn't your cup of tea, feel free to explore

the rest of the bookshelf.

We are sure you will find something to help guide you into a restful sleep.

So if you would like to hear this short story, you can sign up today for a seven-day free trial.

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