And Thereby Hangs a Tale: Short Stories
And Thereby Hangs a Tale: Short Stories book cover

And Thereby Hangs a Tale: Short Stories

Mass Market Paperback – November 29, 2011

Price
$5.15
Publisher
St. Martin's Paperbacks
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0312539542
Dimensions
4.21 x 0.87 x 7.59 inches
Weight
8 ounces

Description

“One of the top ten storytellers in the world.” ― Los Angeles Times on JEFFREY ARCHER “There isn't a better story-teller alive.” ― Larry King on JEFFREY ARCHER “Archer plots with skill, and keeps you turning the pages.” ― The Boston Globe on JEFFREY ARCHER “Cunning plots, silken style…. Archer plays a cat-and-mouse game with the reader.” ― The New York Times on JEFFREY ARCHER “Archer is a master entertainer.” ― Time on JEFFREY ARCHER “A storyteller in the class of Alexandre Dumas…unsurpassed skill.” ― Washington Post on JEFFREY ARCHER “Outrageous and top-notch terror.” ― Vogue on SHALL WE TELL THE PRESIDENT? “The only difference between this book and The Day of the Jackal is that Archer is a better writer.” ― Chicago Tribune on SHALL WE TELL THE PRESIDENT? “Authentic, literate, and scary.” ― Cosmopolitan on SHALL WE TELL THE PRESIDENT? “The countdown is the thing; the pace, the pursuit, the what-next, the how-is-it-going-to-come-out…” ― Boston Globe on SHALL WE TELL THE PRESIDENT? “Holds the reader in a vicelike grip.” ― Penthouse on SHALL WE TELL THE PRESIDENT? “A compelling read.” ― Newsday on A PRISONER OF BIRTH “Dynamite…plot twists and a slam-bang finale.” ― The Washington Post on A PRISONER OF BIRTH “Archer plots with skill, and keeps you turning the pages.” ― The Boston Globe on A PRISONER OF BIRTH “Thoroughly enjoyable.” ― Publishers Weekly on A PRISONER OF BIRTH “Compulsively readable.” ― Library Journal on A PRISONER OF BIRTH “Gripping.” ― The Vancouver Sun on A PRISONER OF BIRTH “An exercise in wish fulfillment. The good may suffer, but the bad will get theirs in the end. The fun is watching it unfold.” ― St. Petersburg Times (Florida) on A PRISONER OF BIRTH “Archer plots with skill, and keeps you turning the pages.” ― The Boston Globe on CAT O'NINE TALES “The economy and precision of Archer's prose never fails to delight. The criminal doesn't always get away with his crime and justice doesn't always prevail, but the reader wins with each and every story.” ― Publishers Weekly (starred review) on CAT O'NINE TALES “A worthy successor to The Da Vinci Code .” ― Liz Smith, New York Post on FALSE IMPRESSION “Archer is back in top form with [this] latest thriller.” ― Library Journal (starred review) on FALSE IMPRESSION “Thoroughly imagined...entertaining...thrilling.” ― Denver Post on FALSE IMPRESSION “Murder and a high-stakes art-world theft are cleverly blended [in this] exciting...global thrill-ride.” ― Vancouver Sun on FALSE IMPRESSION Tragic, comic, outrageous―these fifteen tales from international bestselling author Jeffrey Archer showcase his remarkable talent for capturing an unforgettable moment in time… In India , in "Caste-Off," a man and woman fall in love while waiting for a traffic light to turn green on the streets of Delhi… From Germany comes "A Good Eye," about a priceless oil painting that has remained in the same family for over two hundred years, until... To the Channel Islands and "Members Only," where a golf ball falls out of a Christmas cracker, and a young man's life will never be the same... To Italy and "No Room at the Inn," where a young man who is trying to book a hotel room ends up in bed with the receptionist, unaware that she... To England, where, in "High Heels," a woman has to explain to her husband why a pair of designer shoes couldn't have gone up in flames... "There isn't a better storyteller alive." ―Larry King "A storyteller in the class of Alexandre Dumas." ― Washington Post "Archer is a master entertainer." ― Time JEFFREY ARCHER was educated at Oxford University. He served five years as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons and has served twenty-seven years as a Member of the House of Lords. Now published in 97 countries and more than 37 languages, all of his novels and short story collections―including Kane & Abel , Only Time Will Tell and This Was a Man ―have been international bestsellers. Jeffrey is married with two sons and three grandchildren, and lives in London, Cambridge and Majorca. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • Tragic, comic, outrageous―these fifteen stories in
  • And Thereby Hangs a Tale
  • from international bestselling author Jeffrey Archer showcase his remarkable talent for capturing an unforgettable moment in time…
  • In India, in "Caste-Off," a man and woman fall in love while waiting for a traffic light to turn green on the streets of Delhi…From Germany comes "A Good Eye," about a priceless oil painting that has remained in the same family for over two hundred years, until...To the Channel Islands and "Members Only," where a golf ball falls out of a Christmas cracker, and a young man's life will never be the same...To Italy and "No Room at the Inn," where a young man who is trying to book a hotel room ends up in bed with the receptionist, unaware that she...To England
  • ,
  • where, in "High Heels," a woman has to explain to her husband why a pair of designer shoes couldn't have gone up in flames...

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(467)
★★★★
25%
(390)
★★★
15%
(234)
★★
7%
(109)
23%
(358)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Not his best work

Stories we're abruptly ended in most cases. I did not enjoy this as much as his other books
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I found these tales just wonderful, well thought out

I found these tales just wonderful, well thought out, deeply human, interesting all the way through, and of course with a surprise
at the end. Please read them on the plane, waiting at the airport or station, on the bus or train; your time will pass most
agreeably!
.
Archer has a deep interest in people, he has a heart, and has developed an amazing insight into our characters, foibles & faults.
I must confess that one or two of these stories brought tears to the eyes: "Members Only" (a life ambition that transcends even
the war); "No Room at the Inn" (an incredible piece of good fortune that most of us men, let's be honest!, have dreamed might
happen to us even once in life - and never did); and "Caste-Off" ( the heart-wrenching TRUE story of Nisha Jamwal, the fashion
designer. Archer is a master of the short story, as he is with the full length novel, and yes I'd put him at par with Frederick Forsyth
for sheer entertainment AND learning.

I'd add that Archer, as has been said of Richard Dawkins, is a national treasure. In a fair & well-run society, the fact that he has
brought so much pleasure to so many should have been taken into account before that prison sentence. (He was only defending
himself from the disgraceful character assassination where a gutter press destroys people just to make money. Many of us,
faced with such a situation, would have been tempted to lie too. It all reminds me of the great mathematician Alan Turing, who
more or less won the war for us only as a reward to be destroyed because of his homosexuality. Our society leaves one in despair
sometimes, no?)

Ever since the overwheming epic "Kane & Abel" I confess I have rooted for Jeffrey Archer. "And Thereby Hangs a Tale" , though
quieter and less "epic" shows all the expertise & humanity of the man. May he live to write us many more short stories!
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Five Stars

good book
✓ Verified Purchase

Jeffrey Archer

This man is a wonderful writer. I have been trying to read all of his books and have nearly succeeded. His sense of humor (dry) constantly delights me and I must have an excellent reason to stop reading in order to have the time to complete my daily chores.