Great Short Short Stories Quick Reads by Great Writers

by Negri, Paul

• ISBN13: 9780486440989
• ISBN10: 0486440982
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-08-10
• Publisher: Dover Publications

Summary

"To buy books would be a good thing," observed Arthur Schopenhauer, "if we also could buy the time to read them." All devoted readers long for more time to spend with their books, and the next best thing to buying time is making the most of the available moments. Great Short Short Stories: Quick Reads by Great Writers offers that opportunity. An outstanding collection of 30 brilliant short stories, each just six or fewer pages in length, it provides the chance to absorb an entire story (or two or three) in just one sitting. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

SHERWOOD ANDERSON (1876-1941, American)
The Egg	1	(9)
(from The Triumph of the Egg: A Book of Impressions from American Life in Tales and Poems, 1921)
AMBROSE BIERCE (1842-1914?, American)
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge	10	(8)
(from The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Vol. II, 1909)
WILLA CATHER (1873-1947, American)
The Enchanted Bluff	18	(8)
(from Harper's Weekly, 1909)
ANTON CHEKHOV (1860-1904, Russian)
A Malefactor	26	(4)
(from The Witch and Other Stories, translated by Constance Garnett, 1918)
KATE CHOPIN (1851-1904, American)
A Pair of Silk Stockings	30	(4)
(from Vogue magazine, 1897)
STEPHEN CRANE (1871-1900, American)
The Veteran	34	(4)
(from The Little Regiment and Other Episodes of the American Civil War, 1896)
DANIEL DEFOE (1660-1731, English)
The Apparition of Mrs. Veal	38	(7)
(from a standard edition, c. 1705)
CHARLES DICKENS (1812-1870, English)
Nobody's Story	45	(5)
(from the periodical Household Words, 1853)
CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN (1860-1935, American)
If I Were a Man	50	(6)
(from Physical Culture magazine, 1914)
THOMAS HARDY (1840-1928, English)
Squire Petrick's Lady	56	(8)
(from A Group of Noble Dames, 1891)
BRET HARTE (1836-1902, American)
The Luck of Roaring Camp	64	(9)
(from The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Sketches, 1870)
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE (1804-1864, American)
Dr. Heidegger's Experiment	73	(8)
(from Twice-told Tales, 9th. ed., 1837)
JEROME K. JEROME (1859-1927, English)
A Ghost Story	81	(6)
(from The Idler, a monthly journal, 1892)
SARAH ORNE JEWETT (1849-1909, American)
A White Heron	87	(9)
(from A White Heron and Other Stories, 1886)
FRANZ KAFKA (1883-1924, Czech)
A Country Doctor	96	(5)
(translated from a standard German edition, 1919)
RUDYARD KIPLING (1865-1936, English)
Wee Willie Winkie	101	(9)
(from Wee Willie Winkie and Other Stories, 1899)
NELLA LARSEN (1891-1964, American)
Sanctuary	110	(5)
(from Forum magazine, 1930)
D.H. LAWRENCE (1885-1930, English)
Second Best	115	(7)
(from The Prussian Officer and Other Stories, 1914)
JACK LONDON (1876-1916, American)
The White Silence	122	(8)
(from The Son of the Wolf Tales of the Far North, 1900)
KATHERINE MANSFIELD (1888-1923, English)
Germans at Meat	130	(4)
(from In a German Pension, 1911)
GUY DE MAUPASSANT (1850-1893, French)
A Piece of String	134	(6)
(from The Works of Guy de Maupassant: Short Stories, 1903)
H.H. MUNRO, OR SAKI (1870-1916, English)
The Open Window	140	(3)
(from Beasts and Super-Beasts, 1914)
O. HENRY (1862-1910, American)
The Furnished Room	143	(6)
(from The Four Million, 1906)
LUIGI PIRANDELLO (1867-1936, Italian)
With Other Eyes	149	(7)
(translated from a standard Italian edition, 1901)
EDGAR ALLAN POE (1809-1849, American)
The Cask of Amontillado	156	(6)
(from a standard edition, 1846)
ALEXANDER PUSHKIN (1799-1837, Russian)
The Coffin-Maker	162	(7)
(from The Prose Tales of Alexander Poushkin, 1916)
LEO TOLSTOY (1828-1910, Russian)
The Three Hermits	169	(6)
(from a standard edition, n.d.)
MARK TWAIN (1835-1910, American)
The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County	175	(5)
(from Mark Twain's Sketches, New and Old, 1875)
H.G. WELLS (1866-1946, English)
The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes	180	(9)
(from The Pall Mall Budget, a weekly, 1895)
OSCAR WILDE (1854-1900, Irish)
The Sphinx Without a Secret	189
(originally published as "Lady Alroy" in The World magazine, 1887)