Fragile Things

Contents

• "The Mapmaker" – a very short story included in the book's introduction, originally written for American Gods
• "A Study in Emerald" – a Sherlock Holmes/Cthulhu Mythos pastiche written for the anthology Shadows Over Baker Street
• "The Fairy Reel" – a short lyric poem
• "October in the Chair" – dry run for The Graveyard Book, inspired by the work of Ray Bradbury
• "The Hidden Chamber" – gothic poem about Bluebeard for the anthology '
• "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire" – gothic story published in the anthology Gothic!
• "The Flints of Memory Lane" – a real life ghost story
• "Closing Time" – a club story / ghost story inspired by M. R. James and Robert Aickman
• "Going Wodwo" – a poem about a wild man in the woods for the anthology The Green Man
• "Bitter Grounds" – written for the anthology '
• "Other People" – originally titled Afterlife
• "Keepsakes and Treasures: A Love Story" – began as a comic for Oscar Zarate's collection, It's Dark in London illustrated by Warren Pleece. Contains the characters Mr. Alice and Mr. Smith, a pair of dubious men who also appeared in a Gaiman novella called The Monarch of the Glen, suggesting that this tale is a part of the American Gods universe as well.
• "Good Boys Deserve Favors" – inspired by a statue by Lisa Snellings-Clark of a man holding a double bass
• "The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch" – inspired by a painting by Frank Frazetta of a savage woman flanked by tigers. Not present in the British paperback from Headline Review.
• "Strange Little Girls" – twelve very short stories to accompany Tori Amos's CD Strange Little Girls
• "Harlequin Valentine" – written for Strange Attraction, a book based on a Ferris wheel made by Lisa Snellings-Clark
• "Locks" – a conversational poem editing the tale of Goldilocks
• "The Problem of Susan" – written for the anthology Flights by Al Sarrantonio, written in response to the character Susan in Narnia
• "Instructions" – a poem giving instructions about what to do when you find yourself in a fairy tale, later republished as a picture book
• "How Do You Think It Feels?" – story inspired by gargoyles, in this case protecting the heart. Not present in the British paperback from Headline Review
• "My Life" – a monologue written to accompany a picture of a sock monkey in the photography book Sock Monkeys by Arne Svenson
• "Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot" – not present in the British paperback from Headline Review
• "Feeders and Eaters" – based on a nightmare of Neil Gaiman's, it first took the form of a comic and later the outline for a pornographic horror film
• "Diseasemaker's Croup" – written for the book The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases edited by Jeff VanderMeer and Mark Roberts
• "In the End" – imagined as the very last book of the Bible. Not present in the British paperback from Headline Review.
• "Goliath" – set in the Matrix universe and included with The Matrix Comics Vol. 1
• "Pages from a Journal Found in a Shoebox Left in a Greyhound Bus Somewhere Between Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Louisville, Kentucky" – written for the album Scarlet's Walk, by Tori Amos
• "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" – nominated for the 2007 Hugo Award for Best Short Story and won the Locus Award for Best Short Story
• "The Day the Saucers Came" - short narrative poem about the end of the world
• "Sunbird" – written as a birthday present for Neil Gaiman's daughter, a story in the style of R. A. Lafferty
• "Inventing Aladdin" – a poem depicting the invention of stories, in this case, Aladdin
• The Monarch of the Glen – a novella-length sequel to Gaiman's novel American Gods inspired by Beowulf and set in remote areas of Scotland

Awards