In 1967, Trevor published his first collection of short stories, The Day We Got Drunk on Cake. However, it was his next collection, 1972's The Ballroom of Romance, and Other Stones, that established his reputation as a talented short-fiction writer. Critics drew comparisons between Trevor and other important contemporary British writers, such as Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, and Muriel Spark. Most of Trevor's short fiction explores life in Ireland. For example, a short story titled "Beyond the Pale" (1981) explores the political turmoil in contemporary Ireland through the plot device of English tourists exposed to terrorist violence in Northern Ireland. The vacationers are forced to confront their own roles in the AngloIrish conflict.