ocr: Introduction Flannery O'Connor's first book has never, up to now, been published. It was entitled The Geranium: A Collection of Short Stories and consists of the first six stories in this volume. The title page of the original manuscript, in the library of the University of Iowa, bears the legend, "A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts, in the Department of English, in the Graduate College of the State Uni- versity of lowa." It is dated Junc 1947 and a separate page carries a dedication to ber teacher, Paul Engle. At their first mee ...