The work of Chopin, Wharton and Gilman in the short story is more highly esteemed in contemporary critical opinion than ever before; Janet Beer illuminates their similarities, as well as their diversity and demonstrates the unique, innovatory contribution that each made to the tradition of the short story. Beer looks at the short fiction of all three writers in terms of both genre and theme, ranging between discussions of the shortest of Chopin's short stories and Wharton's novellas; between Chopin's frankly erotic writing; and the homilies in which Gilman warns of the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases. A range of texts are discussed, including 'The Yellow Wallpaper' and The House of Mirth. This new paperback edition also includes a new Preface by Janet Beer which helpfully details scholarship in the field since the book's first publication in 1997, and will be of interest to students and scholars of these three major American women writers and accessible for the interested general reader.