A La Carte Read online

  Inspiration update November 2016

  It is hard to ignore, or indeed forget, the late Princess Diana. Her selfless attachment to charitable works defined her as a decent, honourable individual. A self-styled “Queen of Hearts” who touched the lives of millions of people throughout the world.

  When we first published this book in May 1995 our desire just like Diana’s was to help the disadvantaged. Particularly children infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Over twenty years on we feel that we can advance our consideration to include the following charities: The National Aids Trust, Great Ormond Street Hospital, NSPCC/Childline, Help for Heroes, and the Samaritans.

  A La Carte (1995) was received well. Its first print run of 350,000 copies made it the third biggest paperback print run of that month in the UK.

  We have chosen two dates to release A La Carte (2017): July the 1st, the late Princess’s birthday, to coincide with the run-up to the 20th memorial of her death (August 31st 2017); the second date is December 1st, World AIDS Day. A La Carte (1995) was a project to raise funds primarily for children. We now feel it appropriate to reach out to a wider need. We hope that the charities we have chosen reflect this.

  Thank you for buying A La Carte. Please share this charitable venture on Twitter, Facebook and other appropriate social media outlets. Our sincere thanks and gratitude.

  Jason Cheriton

  For and on behalf of “In the Company of Authors”.

  © Jason Cheriton 2017

  A La Carte logo © Jason Cheriton 2017

  A LA CARTE

  BY JEFFREY ARCHER

  and 15 other stories by

  famous authors

  Deborah Moggach

  Richard Adams

  Bill James

  Anna Reynolds

  Antonia Fraser

  Doris Lessing

  H. R. F. Keating

  William Trevor

  G. Mackay Brown

  Angela Keys

  Isabel Colegate

  Maeve Binchy

  Julian Symons

  Hilary Norman

  Ruth Rendell

  First published in Great Britain in 1995 by Chancellor Press

  an imprint of Reed Consumer Books Limited

  Michelin House, 81 Fulham Road, London SW3 6RB

  and Auckland, Melbourne, Singapore and Toronto

  This collection has been compiled and edited by Jason Cheriton

  Copyright © in this collection

  Betterware Plc 1995

  Copyright in individual stories as follows:

  ‘A La Carte’ © Jeffrey Archer 1988;

  ‘Lucky Dip’ © Deborah Moggach 1989;

  ‘A Dog in the Dark’ © Richard Adams 1995;

  Tail’ © Bill James 1995; ‘A Safe Place’ © Anna Reynolds 1995;

  The Case of the Parr Children’ © Lady Antonia Fraser 1979

  (reproduced by kind permission of Curtis Brown Limited);

  ‘Romance 1988’ © Doris Lessing 1988

  (reproduced by kind permission of Jonathan Clowes Limited);

  The Bunting Affirms’ © H. R. F. Keating 1995;

  “Old Flame’ © William Trevor 1993;

  ‘The Village’ © G. Mackay Brown 1995;

  ‘Sound Proof’ © Angela Keys 1995;

  ‘The Nice Boys’ © Isabel Colegate 1965;

  ‘Recipe for Victory’ © Maeve Binchy 1989;

  ‘The Flowers that Bloom in the Spring’ © Julian Symons 1979

  (reproduced by kind permission of Curtis Brown Limited);

  ‘Vampire’ © Hilary Norman 1983;

  ‘Paperwork’ © Ruth Rendell 1988.

  ISBN 1 85152 891 1

  Printed in Great Britain by Cox & Wyman Ltd

  Foreword

  As Patron of the National AIDS Trust, I have often been told by people with HIV and AIDS that one of their worst experiences is the feeling of loneliness – of rejection by society. This anthology of short stories by famous authors who have freely given their talents therefore has a double function. In the first place, it will provide money for the Trust to benefit those affected by the disease, especially the children who may have been born with it. In the second place, it will remind sufferers, as they see the list of familiar names, that they are not alone or rejected and that many of the outstanding people of our time care about them. Finally, as well as providing an opportunity for us to show care, the book will undoubtedly give several days enjoyable reading and re-reading. I am delighted to commend this book.

  March, 1995

  Introduction

  Short stories are a nightmare for the Editor of any magazine which has a reputation for printing them. When I arrived as Editor of the Literary Review in Beak Street, the magazine was receiving about a hundredweight of them every month through the post. If the tiny staff had even started to read them, we would .have had no time to do anything else, and most of them were drivel. It would be easy to conclude that more people wish to write short stories than wish to read them.

  But such a conclusion would be wrong. There is a market for well-written short stories – not a mass market, but a perfectly respectable one, and many people enjoy reading them more than novels. The problem is that the publishing trade nowadays tends to concentrate on trying to produce a few best-sellers. It is not so interested – whether as a result of economic necessity, as it claims, or laziness, as I believe – in earning an honest living from the production of good books which cause much pleasure and selling a couple of thousand copies. The result of this, coupled with magazines’ reluctance to touch a medium which has so much unpublishable rubbish waiting to descend on them, is that excellent stories by famous writers, written in a moment of enthusiasm, tend to be put in the author’s bottom drawer and forgotten.

  Few people write enough short stories to make a book of their own. The result is an anthologist’s dream. Jason Cheriton has cracked the system brilliantly. By asking famous writers to offer their work to charity, he successfully bypasses the vanity of so many authors who feel they should be paid enormous sums for their work.

  He appeals to them in the most honest and admirable way, to their sense of decency. Finally, by intelligent selection, he has assembled an admirable collection of stories by interesting and important writers. I hope the book raises as much money as possible for the AIDS charity he has in mind and points the way to a successful career for him in the future.

  Auberon Waugh

  Contents

  The Inspiration

  A La Carte

  Lucky Dip

  A Dog in The Dark

  Tail

  A Safe Place

  The Case of The Parr Children

  Romance 1988

  The Bunting Affirms

  Old Flame

  The Village

  Sound Proof

  The Nice Boys

  Recipe for Victory

  The Flowers that Bloom In The Spring

  Vampire

  Paperwork

  The Inspiration

  In September 1989 I met an extraordinarily brave lady whom I shall call Tanya. She looked like an ‘ordinary’ woman. Although shy at first, Tanya revealed a warm and sensitive disposition. She had, however, been recently widowed. Her husband had died from AIDS at the age of 32 and had left her, then 28 years old, HTV seropositive.

  The remarkable thing about Tanya was her vitality and unending desire to help others understand the dire consequences of contracting the HIV infection. The national media gave her plight full attention and I’m sure many people have been encouraged by her stoic bravery. This anthology has been inspired partly as a result of the brief friendship that Tanya and I shared.

  I then worked for twelve months on a project which resulted in a charity auction of donated g