Short story for summer: The Madonna of the Pool

The pool is extraordinary. Not so much the pool itself: that’s just a pleasant version of the usual type found near holiday homes: twelve metres by five, steps into the shallow water, sunbathing areas at each end. A more subtle shade of blue, perhaps, than most, with no colour distinction to mark the place about a third of the way down its length where the bottom suddenly drops steeply to form deeper water – aesthetically pleasing but potentially dangerous I should have thought.

The complete story is published in the summer double issue of The Tablet, dated 19/26 August 2017.

Helen Stancey is the author of two novels, Words and Common Ground.
The Madonna of the Pool is the title story of her first collection of short stories, published this month by Fairlight Books.