Trevor's fiction has been compared to that of the Irish writer James Joyce. Joyce's short story collection The Dubliners (1914) explores facets of life in Ireland from the viewpoints of children and adults, and raises political, artistic, and religious concerns. The final story of the work, "The Dead," is considered a masterpiece of fiction worldwide.

Graham Greene's novel Brighton Rock (1938) explores sin and redemption through evocation of a British teenage gang leader and his young wife. Both are Roman Catholics, and their religious background plays a major role in their thoughts if not their actions.

British writer Elizabeth Bowen's novel The House in Paris (1935) reveals the inner workings of an upper middle-class family through the narration of two children. Against the backdrop of a house in Paris, the family's infidelities and tragedies are revealed.

Trevor's short story "Beyond the Pale" (1981) explores...