". . . writes beautifully yet sparingly, never letting his deep knowledge of the detail get in the way of the story. It's a compelling read." -Ivan Fallon, bestselling author of Billionaire The novella Summertime is set in the "old money" crowd of Long Island and describes an affair between a GP and his patient, causing his professional guilt, compounded by the guilt of his paramour, due to her relationship with her father. A brass rubbing hobbyist finds a gravestone with his name on it. A gentleman exchanges a life of superficial pleasure for a worthwhile, charitable cause. An introvert gets embroiled in an insider dealing scandal with his controlling girlfriend. A painter sees his canvas go blank in mid-execution. A playboy polo player is prompted to return home by the death of a friend. An old man with digital incapacities experiences a nightmare. A father reflects on his relationship with his son. A spoiled rich girl sets out to find a husband. Two sisters fall out over a romance with a tenant. This collection of short stories is a fascinating literary journey through international and elegant venues, populated by a variety of personalities whose adventures reflect the twists and turns of human existence. "In his novella Summertime , Stanislas Yassukovich-a century after Gatsby's debut-takes us back to the Long Island Gold Coast, a world he knows firsthand, where the gilded denizens indulge in all-too-human pursuits. As Fitzgerald once wrote of such characters, 'If it wasn't life, it was magnificent.' QED." -Charles Scribner III, author of Scribners: Five Generations in Publishing "Stanislas Yassukovich, a legendary City of London banker and financier for many years, is also a great storyteller and skilled writer, as this new publication, Summertime and Short Stories , clearly shows. I enjoyed every one of the short stories, from first to last, but as a former financial journalist, who wrote about Yassukovich in his heyday (and mine too), I was particularly interested in "A Shy Man," the story of an introvert who inadvertently gets involved in an insider trading scandal. City scandals were all too common in our day, but insider dealing was a difficult crime to prove and few people ever caught red-handed-unlike the hapless Basil and his greedy girlfriend AA of this story, for whom things end badly. "Stani," as we called him, writes beautifully yet sparingly, never letting his deep knowledge of the detail get in the way of the story. It's a compelling read." -Ivan Fallon, former City editor of the Sunday Telegraph and deputy editor and business editor of the Sunday Times , and best-selling author of Billionaire: The Life and Times of James Goldsmith and The Brothers: The Rise & Rise of Saatchi & Saatchi "Stani offers another luminous collection of short stories shaped by surprise and restraint. Set within the rarefied world of Long Island's old-money society, these finely wrought narratives unfold with an acute awareness of manners, memory, and the quiet power of what is left unsaid. In prose that is taut, precise, and elegantly controlled, Stani recalls L. P. Hartley's enduring observation that "the past is a foreign country: they do things differently there. The result is a deeply pleasurable reading experience-one that lingers-leaving the reader with the distinct longing to return, once more, to this exquisitely observed and vanishing world." -Nigel à Brassard, MSt. (Oxon.), author of Inventing the Travel Guide: Mariana Stark's Advice for the Independent Traveller "In his latest collection of short stories, Yassukovich once again brings his gimlet eye to bear on the fallacies, flaws, and occasional foolishness of the privileged, especially those who congregate in and around the gilded enclave of Long Island's Gold Coast. As with Fitzgerald, Updike, and Henry James, this is a world the author knows intimately and he is able to lead the reader beyond the hedgerows and porticos into the very human, and quite often vulnerable, hearts of his subjects." -Charles Dubow, author of Indiscretion and The Girl in the Moonlight "Stanislas Yassukovich is a keen observer of the human soul and experience, blending poignant prose with insightful perspectives in a variety of venues and situations. He continues to craft stories that strike at the heart how people operate, navigate and resolve matters of high consequence. Strongly recommended." -Jim Alkon, former editorial director, BookTrib Stanislas (Stani) Yassukovich was born in Paris in 1935 to a Russian émigré father and a French mother. They moved to America in 1939 and Stani was educated at Deerfield Academy and Harvard College. He served in the US Marine Corps and later joined his father's firm White, Weld & Co. in London where he became a prominent figure in the development of the international capital markets. He began writing while in England and had five books published by Austin Macauley of London. Upon retirement, Stani and his wif