Holly and Polly

A love story, and how it happens. Read by Jenny Funnell

The 25 short stories that comprise England and Other Stories mark Swift's return to the short form after seven acclaimed novels. The stories dwell on the essence of Englishness and those chosen place us on the eve of the Battle of Trafalgar, in a barbers, a supermarket, a laboratory and Macintyre's warehouse, and in each place and time, Swift perfectly captures a universal truth from the minutiae of lives.

"This is a sharp, beautiful collection: every story quick and readable but leaving in the memory a core, a residue of thoughtfulness" The Guardian

Graham Swift came to prominence with this second novel Shuttlecock, which won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in 1983. That same year, Swift's Waterland, set in the Fens earned him a place on the shortlist for the Booker prize. Swift would go on to win the Booker prize in 1996 with his novel Last Orders, which became a film starring Michael Caine, Tom Courtney, Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren.

Produced by Jeremy Osborne

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Sweet Talk.