Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2019

Abstract

Ethel Smyth’s short story, “An Adventure in a Train,” was featured in the London Mercury in 1920. As the journal tried to “help bridge the gap in discussion of literary criticism that was made during the first world war… reconnecting the learned public to literary spheres,” anyone acquainted with the periodical would assume that Smyth’s “An Adventure” would contain literary richness and social commentary (Hipol). Interestingly, however, the plot of “An Adventure” is quite straightforward and lacks any vivid action that is usually associated with any “adventure” story. Indeed, the narrator gets on a train, talks to a middle-aged woman, and records the conversation. It seems to be much more of a regular travel log rather than an adventure.

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