This anthology presents six pairs of stories that provide thought-provoking and accessible opportunities for comparing pre-1900 and post-1900 fiction. Pairings include complete stories by Thomas Hardy and Eudora Welty, Anthony Trollope and James Joyce, and Elizabeth Gaskell and Mary Lavin, amongst other authors listed for study in the National Curriculum for English. Activities on key aspects of the stories and notes on their social and historical context help students work towards GCSE coursework assignments devised for each pairing.