'The Spinster' by Robert Hichens is a short story about a woman named Miss Bassett who has died, and how the characters in the story react to the news of her death. The story begins with the narrator having dinner with Inley and his wife, Lady Inley, when they hear the church bell tolling. Lady Inley mentions that the bell is tolling for Miss Bassett, an old spinster and cat-lover, who has passed away.