At Lehmann’s by Katherine Mansfield

A young woman in a German boarding house observes the social lives and quiet tensions among the other guests, particularly the mysterious and theatrical Herr Lehmann. As dinner is served and conversations unfold, unspoken rivalries and emotional undercurrents come to the surface. The plot is minimal, focused on mood, manners, and restrained emotion. Mansfield captures the awkwardness of forced intimacy in shared spaces. It’s a story about surface civility and the complexities beneath.