Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Her Bounty to the Dead / Where Spirits Gat Them Home | 1978 | John Crowley | Buy |
| 2 | The Reason for the Visit | 1980 | John Crowley | Buy |
| 3 | Snow | 1985 | John Crowley | Buy |
| 4 | Great Work of Time | 1989 | John Crowley | Buy |
| 5 | In Blue | 1989 | John Crowley | Buy |
| 6 | Gone | 1996 | John Crowley | Buy |
| 7 | Lost and Abandoned | 1997 | John Crowley | Buy |
| 8 | An Earthly Mother Sits and Sings | 2000 | John Crowley | Buy |
| 9 | The Girlhood of Shakespeare’s Heroines | 2005 | John Crowley | Buy |
| 10 | Conversation Hearts | 2008 | John Crowley | Buy |
John Crowley’s short stories and novellas span three decades and display the same literary ambition that defines his novels. His shorter fiction ranges from science fiction to literary fantasy, often blending the two in ways that resist easy categorization.
Snow (1985) is one of his most widely read short stories, a quiet piece about a woman’s recorded memories and the limits of technology to preserve the past. Great Work of Time (1989) is a novella about a secret society that uses time travel to keep the British Empire intact, exploring how small changes cascade through history. The Girlhood of Shakespeare’s Heroines (2005) takes a more playful approach, reimagining the early lives of Shakespeare’s female characters.
These ten stories and novellas complement Crowley’s novels and offer a concentrated dose of his distinctive style. Readers who appreciate writers like Gene Wolfe, Kelly Link, or Karen Russell will find Crowley’s short fiction well worth exploring.