The Apple Tree (anthology)

The Apple Tree is a collection of short stories by Daphne du Maurier published in 1952 by Gollancz in the UK, and under the title Kiss Me Again, Stranger by Doubleday in the US.^[2] It includes "The Birds" which was made into a film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock in 1963, the anthology was then republished under the name The Birds and Other Stories.

Stories

• "The Birds" tells of birds which inexplicably begin attacking man. It is told from the viewpoint of Nat Hocken, a farm worker in coastal Cornwall, and his family.

• "Monte Verità" tells of an isolated mountain, home to a mysterious sect rumoured to be immortal and feared by the local communities from whom it attracts young women who are never heard of again. It is told from the viewpoint of a nameless mountaineer whose best friend's wife disappears on a trip to climb the peak. It is based on the actual colony of Monte Verità in Switzerland which preached a return to nature.

• "The Apple Tree" follows the actions of a man who, following the death of his neglected wife, suspects her spirit inhabits an old apple tree in his garden which he resolves to remove, but never gets around to doing so. That is his mistake.

• "The Little Photographer" tells of a rich Marquise bored and dissatisfied with her life who attempts to spice up her life by having an affair with a photographer whilst holidaying on the French Mediterranean coast.

• "Kiss Me Again, Stranger" in which a shy mechanic follows a cinema usherette home from work and is led to a cemetery. Only later does the mechanic discover the terrible truth about the usherette.

• "The Old Man" follows a family history as told by a neighbour who suspects the father of killing one of their children.

Reception

Reviewing the American edition in F&SF, Boucher and McComas noted that while nearly half the work fell into the fantasy genre, some bordering on science fiction, the stories were "largely overlong and not too original."^[3]

Adaptations

• For the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film, see The Birds (film)
• For other adaptations of "The Birds" see "The Birds" (story)
• "Kiss Me Again, Stranger" was adapted for television in 1953 as part of the Suspense US TV series.

References

External links

• "Suspense" Kiss Me Again, Stranger at the Internet Movie Database