'The stories in "To Room Nineteen" are part of the intellectual apparatus of anybody alive in England in the Fifties. I can't begin to evaluate some of them objectively; "The Habit of Loving" and the dazzlingly cynical "One Off The Shortlist" shaped the way I, for one, perceived the world.' Angela Carter, Guardian
'A major collection - rich, perceptive and cruelly honest. For Doris Lessing, private lives, private sins and private blisses are aspects of history, so that even in short stories, she is a chronicler of her time and its conscience too.' Lorna Sage, Observer
'On sex, Doris Lessing has few equals in understanding not only desire, but the rest - boredom, disappointment, erotic fury. On every subject there is a selfless, composed quality about her writing, a special combination of indignation and compassion.' Diane Johnson, New York Times
