SOURCE: Bailey, Paul. “Finger-lickin' Good.” Observer (14 August 1983): 25.

In the following excerpt, Bailey explores the theme of missed opportunities in Spencer's stories.

Whilst reading Bobbie Ann Mason, I was sometimes reminded of another Southern celebrator of small-town life—the wonderful Eudora Welty, who also finds nothing too trivial for her consideration. Welty provides a typically generous Foreword to the serenely assured stories of her friend Elizabeth Spencer, which are now available in paperback. A lifetime's work is contained in this fat volume, from ‘The Little Brown Girl’ of 1944 to ‘The Girl Who Loved Horses’ of 1977. What is astonishing about the collection is its certainty of tone—a tone that is maintained for over 400 pages. Elizabeth Spencer had a confident voice from the very start of her distinguished career, and it has never deserted her. Yet for all her narrative confidence, it is her gift for insinuation that most impresses...