[1][2] Most of the twenty-two stories are impressionistic vignettes based on Rhys's own life experiences in and around the Left Bank of Paris.
[3] The final story, Vienne, is based on her post-World War I life in Vienna with first husband Jean Lenglet, and was originally published in The Transatlantic Review in 1924.
[4][5] Publication of The Left Bank and Other Stories came about as a result of Rhys's lover and literary mentor, Ford Madox Ford, sending the stories to his London contact, influential publisher's reader Edward Garnett.
[6][7][8] The book was well received by critics on its initial release, establishing Rhys's early writing career.
[9] The book went out of print during Rhys's 1939-1966 period of obscurity but, following the resurgence of her career due to Wide Sargasso Sea (1966), The Left Bank collection was republished in part by André Deutsch in Tigers are Better-Looking (1968), which included nine of the original twenty-two stories.