SHIRLEY
(by Kaoru Mori, CMX, $9.99)

FROM THE BACK COVER:
"From the acclaimed author of Emma, this collection of short stories presents a further exploration into the stratified world of English society, portrayed through the experiences of young maids. Miss Bennett lives alone and keeps busy running the pub she inherited. Needing some help, she posts a notice for a maid. Along comes Shirley Madison, a girl who can clean and cook as well as any maid—even if she's only 13 years old!"

EVIDENCE FOR:
Hooray for historically accurate maids! Once again, Kaoru Mori proves that she has an entire genre all to herself with her refined accounts of 19th-century England. The short story format allows readers to dip into an Emma-like world without having to track the Emma storyline; instead, we get a unique potpourri of characters and relationships that are just as charming as Mori's flagship series. Two-thirds of the book is devoted to Shirley, whose childlike innocence comes out in so many delightful ways—twirling her skirt the first time she puts on her uniform, or aspiring to be just as glamorous as her mistress—and the final chapter casts her in a conflict where she grows as a character. Two other side stories follow, and it's the second that truly shines, with a street-smart maid who has to deal with her prank-loving master. Who knew that Mori had a talent for comedy? The timing and panache of that last story will leave a smile on your face, as will the precise linework, the carefully detailed backgrounds and period dress, and the gentle, effortless layouts. A perfect example of how to say more by drawing less.

EVIDENCE AGAINST:
Even by short story standards, these chapters are short—to the point where some of them end up in disappointment more than delight. Some of the early stories about Shirley are little more than fragments, with hardly even a trace of direction, and it can be frustrating to have the storyline cut off right when you were getting interested in learning more about her. (Mori even openly admits in the author's notes that she was "just kind of messing around" with some of those chapters.) And then there are some episodes that just don't click in terms of character and setting: the tale of Nellie, who has to take care of a 5-year-old boy, tries to go in multiple directions with something about absentee parents and early child development and collecting animals as pets and eventually ends up not really going anywhere. After these diversions, maybe it's worth going back to the continuity of Emma after all.

FINAL VERDICT:
Not every story in this collection is perfect, but the mood and the style are so spot-on that it deserves at least a B+.

A little update on Shirley. This comes from ANN