The Umbrella-Mender

Beatrice Harraden (1864-1936) was a British writer and suffragette. "The Umbrella-Mender" is a disturbing tale about an eccentric man who runs a repair shop for umbrellas. One evening he is surprised by a knock at the door. Outside is a man who tells the umbrella-mender that his son is on his death-bed and wishes to see his father. The umbrella-mender sets off at once with the stranger. In the course of their conversation on the journey, the stranger explains that he himself has murdered the umbrella-mender's son. The tension between the two men and the need for revenge, atonement and closure forms the rest of the story and the story has multiple twists and surprises.