Amok, by Stefan Zweig

These four fine stories carry on Pushkin's admirable series of works by the great Viennese writer, who committed suicide in exile in 1942. The title novella is an East Indian tale of a doctor's dilemma: a tropical erotic tragedy with the steamy mood of Maugham and the moral acuity of Conrad. "Leporella", about a dangerously devoted servant, packs a Rendell-style psychological chiller into 30 pages. The peerless Anthea Bell translates as stylishly as ever. BT