first published in 1939 these three short novels secured the authors reputation as a master of short fictionfrom the gothic old south to revolutionary mexico few writers have evoked such a multitude of worlds both exterior and interior as powerfully as katherine anne porter this collection gathers together the best of her pulitzer prizewinning short fiction including pale horse pale rider where a young woman lies in a fever during the influenza epidemic her childhood memories mingling with fears for her fianc on his way to war and noon wine a haunting story of tragedy and scandal on a small dairy farm in texas in all of the compelling stories collected here harsh and tragic truths are expressed in prose both brilliant and precise