And Five Were Foolish is a 1924 collection of short stories by the English author Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer), first published in The Windsor Magazine. The title is a reference to the Parable of the Ten Virgins.
Plot The book consists of ten short stories, several inspired by incidents and places known to Mercer and all named after a significant female character.
Background The stories were written for The Windsor Magazine, which boasted its readers had been "clamouring for more".
Chapters + Chapter Book title Windsor title Date Volume Issue Pages Illustrator I Sarah False Pretences November 1922 LVI 335 591-684 Henry Coller II Madeleine Fine Linen October 1922 LVI 334 463-473 E G Oakdale III Katharine Three's Company October 1923 LVIII 346 493-506 Norah Schlegel IV Spring Groom Of The Chambers November 1923 LVIII 347 587-600 Norah Schlegel V Elizabeth A Drink Divine December 1923 LIX 348 3-14 Norah Schlegel VI Jo Private Papers January 1924 LIX 349 115-127 Norah Schlegel VII Athalia A Fool's Errand February 1924 LIX 350 233-246 Norah Schlegel VIII Ann Mesalliance April 1924 LIX 352 505-523 Norah Schlegel IX Eleanor A Private Scandal March 1924 LIX 351 347-359 Norah Schlegel X Susan Noblesse Oblige May 1924 LIX 353 573-578 Norah Schlegel
Critical reception The collected volume was a significant success, reprinted seven times before World War II. The original dust jacket carried a Daily Telegraph quote:
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