This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN 0060515236 (ISBN13: 9780060515232). Fragile Things is Neil Gaiman's second collection of short fiction. A mysterious circus terrifies an audience for one extraordinary performance before disappearing into the night, taking one of the spectators along with it. In a novella set two years after the events of American Gods, Shadow pays a visit to an ancient Scottish mansion, and finds himself trapped in a game of murder and monsters. Another short story is set in a strangely altered Victorian England, the great detective Sherlock Holmes must solve a most unsettling royal murder. Two teenage boys crash a party and meet the girls of their dreams and nightmares. The members of an excusive epicurean club lament that they've eaten everything that can be eaten, with the exception of a legendary, rare, and exceedingly dangerous Egyptian bird. Such marvelous creations and more, including a short story set in the world of The Matrix and others set in the worlds of gothic fiction and children's fiction, can be found in this collection, which showcases Gaiman's storytelling brilliance as well as his entertaining (and dark) sense of humor. By turns delightful, disturbing, and diverting, Fragile Things is a gift of literary enchantment from one of the most unique writers of our time. Contents: • A Study in Emerald • (2003) • novelette • The Fairy Reel • (2004) • poem (variant of The Faery Reel) • October in the Chair • (2002) • shortstory • The Hidden Chamber • (2005) • poem • Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire • (2004) • shortstory (variant of Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Nameless House of the Night of Dread Desire) • The Flints of Memory Lane • (1997) • essay • Closing Time • (2003) • shortstory • Going Wodwo • (2002) • poem • Bitter Grounds • (2003) • novelette • Other People • (2001) • shortstory • Keepsakes and Treasures: A Love Story • (1999) • shortstory • Good Boys Deserve Favours • (1995) • shortstory • The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch • (1998) • shortstory • Strange Little Girls • (2001) • shortstory • Harlequin Valentine • (1999) • shortstory • Locks • (1999) • poem • The Problem of Susan • (2004) • shortstory • Instructions • (2000) • poem • How Do You Think It Feels? • (1998) • shortstory • My Life • (2002) • poem • Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot • (1998) • shortstory • Feeders and Eaters • (2002) • shortstory • Diseasemaker's Croup • (2003) • shortstory • In the End • (1996) • shortstory • Goliath • (1998) • shortstory • Pages from a Journal Found in a Shoebox Left in a Greyhound Bus Somewhere Between Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Louisville, Kentucky • (2002) • shortstory • How to Talk to Girls at Parties • (2006) • shortstory • The Day the Saucers Came • (2006) • poem • Sunbird • (2005) • novelette • Inventing Aladdin • (2003) • poem • The Monarch of the Glen • [American Gods] • (2003) • novelette