The Apple Tree is a collection of short stories by Daphne du Maurier

Daphne du Maurier

Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...

 published in 1952 by Gollancz

Gollancz

Gollancz often refers to the British publishing house Victor Gollancz Ltd.Gollancz, a family name originating from the Polish town Gołańcz , is mainly known as the name of a prominent British Jewish family, including:* Sir Hermann Gollancz , rabbi* Sir Israel Gollancz , scholar of...

 in the UK, and under the title Kiss Me Again, Stranger by Doubleday in the US. It includes "The Birds

The Birds (story)

"The Birds" is a famous novelette by Daphne du Maurier, first published in her 1952 collection The Apple Tree. It is the story of a farmhand, his family, and his community, who are attacked by flocks of seabirds who have organized themselves into avian suicide warriors. The story is set in...

" which was made into a film of the same name

The Birds (film)

The Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few...

 by Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...

 in 1963, the anthology was then republished under the name The Birds and Other Stories.

Stories

• "The Birds
  The Birds (story)
  "The Birds" is a famous novelette by Daphne du Maurier, first published in her 1952 collection The Apple Tree. It is the story of a farmhand, his family, and his community, who are attacked by flocks of seabirds who have organized themselves into avian suicide warriors. The story is set in...
  
  " tells of birds which inexplicably begin attacking man. It is told from the viewpoint of Nat Hocken, a farm worker in coastal Cornwall, and his family.

• "Monte Verità" tells of an isolated mountain, home to a mysterious sect rumoured to be immortal and feared by the local communities from whom it attracts young women who are never heard of again. It is told from the viewpoint of a nameless mountaineer whose best friend's wife disappears on a trip to climb the peak. It is based on the actual colony of Monte Verità
  Monte Verita
  Monte Verità is a hill in Ascona , which has served as the site of many different Utopian and cultural events and communities since the beginning of the twentieth century.-History:...
  
   in Switzerland
  Switzerland
  Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
  
   which preached a return to nature.

• "The Apple Tree" follows the actions of a man who, following the death of his neglected wife, suspects her spirit inhabits an old apple tree in his garden which he resolves to remove, but never gets around to doing so. That is his mistake.

• "The Little Photographer" tells of a rich Marquise
  Marquise
  A marquise is a French noblewoman ranking above a countess and below a duchess, and is usually the wife of a marquis. The British equivalent is a marchioness and the Spanish equivalent is a marquesa....
  
   bored and dissatisfied with her life who attempts to spice up her life by having an affair with a photographer whilst holidaying on the French Mediterranean coast.

• "Kiss Me Again, Stranger" in which a shy mechanic follows a cinema usherette home from work and is led to a cemetery. Only later does the mechanic discover the terrible truth about the usherette.

• "The Old Man" follows a family history as told by a neighbour who suspects the father of killing one of their children.

Reception

Reviewing the American edition in F&SF, Boucher

Anthony Boucher

Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...

 and McComas

J. Francis McComas

Jesse Francis McComas was an American science fiction editor. McComas wrote several stories on his own in the 1950s using both his own name and the pseudonym Webb Marlowe....

 noted that while nearly half the work fell into the fantasy genre, some bordering on science fiction, the stories were "largely overlong and not too original."

Adaptations

• For the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film, see The Birds (film)
  The Birds (film)
  The Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few...
  
  
• For other adaptations of "The Birds" see "The Birds" (story)
  The Birds (story)
  "The Birds" is a famous novelette by Daphne du Maurier, first published in her 1952 collection The Apple Tree. It is the story of a farmhand, his family, and his community, who are attacked by flocks of seabirds who have organized themselves into avian suicide warriors. The story is set in...
  
  
• "Kiss Me Again, Stranger" was adapted for television in 1953 as part of the Suspense
  Suspense (US TV series)
  Suspense is an American television anthology series that ran on CBS Television from 1949 to 1954. It was adapted from the radio program of the same name which ran from 1942 to 1962. Like many early television programs, the show was broadcast live from New York City...
  
  US TV series.