7 best short stories by Thomas Burke

Book excerpt: Thomas Burke's writing blends several styles to create a dramatic portrait of London. Limehouse Nights and its various sequels classified Burke as a "purveyor of melodramatic stories of lust and murder among London's lower classes". Both his essays and fiction, focusing particularly on Limehouse Nights, are characterised, seemingly paradoxically, with harsh realities and more romanticised, poetic outlooks. This selection chosen by the critic August Nemocontains the following stories: - The Chink and the Child - The Father of Yoto - Gracie Goodnight - The Paw - The Cue - Beryl, the Croucher and the Rest of England - The Sign of the Lamp