A native of Iowa and long-time resident of Pennsylvania, Josephine Herbst (1892-1969), well known and highly regarded in the 1930s, was the author of seven novels, twenty-seven short stories, a biography, and numerous journal and newspaper articles. In the current study, the first on Herbst's short fiction, the author provides a critical discussion of each of Herbst's stories, including relevant biographical and historical data.

Throughout her career, Herbst, in her stories, explored women's oppression by the dominant male culture. She suggested that women are restricted by their roles as wives and mothers, a theme found in "The Elegant Mr. Gason" and "Dry Sunday in Connecticut." But some of her characters break out of these supporting roles and establish a degree of self-sufficiency, such as Miranda in "A Man of Steel"; however, others pay emotionally for their independence, as Mrs. Sidney does in "The Enemy."