Loss in any form seems to burden us with more weight than anything that can possibly be gained or learnt from. The loss of a person, a loved one, is often overwhelming. Lives so interwoven that the severing or loss of one life leaves the other weakened, unable to function for some time. Recovery comes in a myriad of forms but is usually debilitating, slow and, in the end, we are not as whole as we once were.

It is a subject that authors return to again and again. It is inevitable that at some point in their lives grief has struck them, hollowed them out, but, for some, this dreadful experience is used to nourish words, to form a narrative, a beginning, middle and end to relay and share with others the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ and perhaps some words of comfort too.

Our classic authors guiding us through this volume include Katherine Mansfield, D H Lawrence, Luigi Pirandello, Mary Butts and a host of others.