Eva Ibbotson (1925-2010) was a prolific Austrian-born British author known for her children's and young adult fiction. Eva Ibbotson is renowned for her children's novels, her most famous is Journey to the River Sea which follows the exciting, comical and tragic tale of an English girl, sent to Manaus, in Brazil, and the trials she encounters there. She also wrote "The Secret of Platform 13", which is a fantasy novel. However children is not the only genre Eva Ibbotson wrote for. Her other novels are, if not more exciting, much more beautiful. From the sound of its name to stories within, “a glove shop in Vienna and other short stories” is an incredibly beautiful collection of short, romantic stories for young adults. The book was first published in 1984 by Century Publishing. It is a soft, snowy collection of classic wintry stories mostly set in Eastern Europe. However some stories will take you to the grey streets of London or some remote, unheard of islands. Some of the stories are simple, completely unafraid of being classic and picturesque. This is a rare thing to find in contemporary novels and it is refreshing and comforting. Some stories are humorous and whimsical with surprising twists and comical characters. And some are a blend of both these contrasting qualities. Ibbotson takes you to the halls of Russia’s Imperial Ballet School, then to marble walls and painted ceilings of the Opera House in the Amazon, and to the tiny old-fashioned rooms of a beloved museum. Eva Ibbotson’s style was unique - a mixture of old fashioned classics and modern humour.