SOURCE: "Audrey Thomas: Ten Green Bottles, Ladies and Escorts," in Second Words: Selected Critical Prose, Anansi, 1982, pp. 268-71.

Internationally acclaimed as a poet, novelist, and short story writer, Atwood is a major figure in Canadian letters. She has helped to define and identify the goals of contemporary Canadian literature and has earned a distinguished reputation among feminist writers for her exploration of women's issues. In the following positive review of Ten Green Bottles and Ladies and Escorts, Atwood discusses the strengths of Thomas's short fiction.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Audrey Thomas' debut as a writer. Ten Green Bottles was first published in the States in 1967. It was out of print for many years, but Oberon has now re-published it, and offers a new book, Ladies & Escorts, as a "companion piece." In a way, everything Thomas writes is a companion piece to everything else. More than...