On the centennial of William Maxwell’s birth, here is the second volume in a two- volume collected edition that reveals the full range of an extraordinary literary voice, a voice that John Updike has called “one of the wisest in American fiction . . . as well as one of the kindest.” In Later Novels and Stories, Maxwell deepens his connection to his signature subject matter even as he broadens his canvas. The Château (1961) describes the most subtle and bittersweet encounter of American naiveté and Old World mystery since Henry James. So Long, See You TomorrowBillie Dyer (1992) and eleven other works of short fiction— some never before collected. The volume concludes with forty brief “improvisations”— fairy tales Maxwell wrote for his wife—and the essay “Nearing Ninety” (1997), his moving valediction to a lifetime of reading and storytelling....

Here is a classic novel from one of our most honored writers--the author of such acclaimed works as So Long, See You Tomorrow and All the Days and Nights." The Folded Leaf is the serenely observed yet deeply moving story of two boys finding one another in the Midwest of the 1920s, when childhood lasted longer than it does today and even adults were more innocent of what life could bring....

On an Illinois farm in the 1920s, a man is murdered, and in the same moment the tenous friendship between two lonely boys comes to an end. In telling their interconnected stories, American Book Award winner William delivers a masterfully restrained and magically evocative meditation on the past. "A small, perfect novel."--Washington Post Book World....