Sleep It Off Lady, originally published in late 1976 by André Deutsch

André Deutsch

André Deutsch was a British publisher.After having learned the business of publishing working for Francis Aldor with whom he was interned in the Isle of Man during the Second World War and who had introduced him to the industry, André Deutsch left Aldor's employment after a few months to continue...

 of Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, was famed Dominica

Dominica

Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...

n author Jean Rhys

Jean Rhys

Jean Rhys , born Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams, was a mid 20th-century novelist from Dominica. Educated from the age of 16 in Great Britain, she is best known for her novel Wide Sargasso Sea , written as a "prequel" to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.-Early life:Rhys was born in Roseau, Dominica...

' final collection of short stories

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

. The sixteen stories in this collection stretch over an approximate 75-year period, starting from the end of the nineteenth century (November 1899) to the present time of writing (circa

Circa

Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...

 1975).

Stories in the collection

(a synopsis follows each title)

• "Pioneers, Oh, Pioneers": At the turn of the twentieth century, a doctor
  Physician
  A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
  
   experiences the final hours of an ill-fated estate house
  Estate (house)
  An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
  
   bought only days before by his rival.
• "Goodbye Marcus, Goodbye Rose": A captain
  Captain (nautical)
  A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
  
   and his wife pay a visit to Dominica while vacationing in Jamaica
  Jamaica
  Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
  
   for the winter.
• "The Bishop's Feast": A home-born returnee is invited by an old nun
  Nun
  A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
  
   to witness the enthronement of a new Bishop in Roseau
  Roseau
  -Architecture:The central district of Roseau is tightly packed with small and large houses and even larger modern concrete structures. There is little green or open space situated within the city, and this is even more so today, as many of the courtyards which was once commonplace within the city...
  
  , before spending a week on Dominica's leeward coast.
• "Heat": The effects of the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée on Dominica.
• "Fishy Waters": Racial tensions between a British
  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
  
   carpenter
  Carpenter
  A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
  
   and local folk erupt into a scandal that eventually finds its way into Roseau's courtroom.
• "Overture and Beginners Please": In this first of four consecutive stories about a pre-World War I
  World War I
  World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
  
   Caribbean
  Caribbean
  The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
  
   immigrant named Elsa, the young girl becomes a stage star in the midst of an unwanted life.
• "Before the Deluge": Elsa meets a stage girl—a policeman's daughter from Manchester
  Manchester
  Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
  
  —whose beauty never succeeds while entertaining her audience.
• "On Not Shooting Sitting Birds": An English gentleman rejects Elsa for good after hearing of her past exploits during hunting trips in her homeland.
• "Kikimora": At a first-class hotel, Elsa discovers how perceptive the title character, a black cat, can be, as compared to a husband.
• "Night Out 1925": The experiences of two lovers, Suzy and Gilbert, in the streets of Paris
  Paris
  Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
  
  .
• "The Chevalier of the Place Blanche": In the English-language version of a work by the author's first husband, Jean Lenglet (written under his nom-de-plume of Edouard de Nève), the title character shares his desire with a British lady in a 1920s Paris restaurant
  Restaurant
  A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
  
  .
• "The Insect World": An old lady shows a young child the disturbing connections between London underground
  London Underground
  The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
  
   dwellers and a tropical insect
  Insect
  Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
  
   parasite whose name they share in slang.
• "Rapunzel, Rapunzel": A hospital patient makes a temporary stay at a convalescent home in London, with a long-haired Australian as her neighbour.
• "Who Knows What's Up in the Attic?": A vacationer in south-east England comes face-to-face with a clothing salesman.
• "Sleep It Off Lady": In this story from which the collection takes its name, another old lady faces a rat problem while taking care of her cottage.
• "I Used to Live Here Once": In this final story, the author returns to her native land.

ISBN 0-233-96818-0 (hardcover, original 1976 edition, André Deutsch

André Deutsch

André Deutsch was a British publisher.After having learned the business of publishing working for Francis Aldor with whom he was interned in the Isle of Man during the Second World War and who had introduced him to the industry, André Deutsch left Aldor's employment after a few months to continue...

)