Great Literary Short Stories

Selected from the best of the world's short fiction, 50 Great Short Stories brings together writings by great masters of the genre. Carefully picked for their timeless quality, listeners are sure to be delighted by the inclusion of such favourites as 'The Gift of the Magi', 'The Lady with the Dog', 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', 'Rain' and 'Mrs Packletide's Tiger', to name but a few.

An offshoot of the oral tradition of storytelling, the short story shot to prominence in the latter half of the 19th century due to an increased demand for short fiction in magazines and journals. Over time, it established itself as an important and popular genre. From PU Songling's classic Painted Skin, Edgar Allan Poe's sensational The Purloined Letter to Guy de Maupassant's poignant Two Friends, 51 Great Short Stories presents some of the finest works of short fiction.

Discover the best of short fiction in this collectable edition featuring fifty of the greatest stories from around the world. This exquisite collection showcases a curated selection of timeless short stories from renowned authors across the globe. With its beautiful design and captivating narratives, this collectible edition is a treasure for literature enthusiasts.

Stories Short and Sweet by Ruskin Bond is a collection of his choicest short stories, capturing the myriad facets of life in the hills. Humour, nostalgia, love, friendship, trust and betrayal - Bond captures every mood that makes our life worth remembering.

An astonishing collection of fifty of the greatest short stories ever written by some of literature's most highly acclaimed writers. 1. "Odour of Chrysanthemums" by D. H. Lawrence; 2. "Miss Harriet" by Guy de Maupassant; 3. "Twenty-six Men and a Girl" by Maxim Gorky; 4. "Hot Potatoes" by Arnold Bennett; 5. "Rats" by M. R. James; 6. "Zodomirsky’s Duel" by Alexandre Dumas; 7. "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin; 8. "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe; 9. "The Encased Man" by Anton Chekhov.

County Sheriff Brody Hayes is in the midst of a missing person's call - for a five-month-old baby. Deep in the mountains of his hometown, Bowie, Wyoming, Brody's desperate search for the helpless child through a worsening snowstorm leads him on an even greater journey - one through his memories of his childhood, his brother, his son, and a life for himself that he thought was lost.

Eloise hasn't quite figured out how to move on after the death of her son, Eddie. She makes good money, buys a new apartment, learns the piano, engages in an office flirtation, but nothing seems to brighten her days quite like the occasional letter from one of her accounting clients, Ed B. When, after months of correspondence, Ed invites Eloise to his country home for a visit, she finds herself overwhelmed by the "Eddies" of her life - the one she lost, the one she writes to, and the one she's eternally searching for.

Featuring multiple narrators, each story is brought vivdly to life. Desire. Longing. Tenderness. Passion. In this year’s volume, love lies at the heart of the stories that guest editor Viet Thanh Nguyen calls “so good that they may be bad for you”: a sixteen-year-old moves into town and...

A collection of the year’s best short stories, selected by celebrated bestselling author Lauren Groff, author of Matrix and The Vaster Wilds, and series editor Heidi Pitlor. “There have never been as many exquisitely built stories in existence than there are now,” proclaims guest editor...

“[Twain] was, in the phrase of his friend William Dean Howells, ‘the Lincoln of our literature’... At the heart of his work lies that greatest of all American qualities: irreverence.” — Washington Post “More than 100 years after [Twain] wrote these stories, they remain not only...

"Is it a crime to live? To create happiness for yourself through your own work?" How do writers and painters get their ideas? And what are the hard realities of such seemingly glamorous and romantic lives? In her groundbreaking new novel, New York Times bestselling author Sena Jeter Naslund...

New and Noteworthy from USA Today A Best New Book of the Week from People "This book will grab your heart and not let go." —John Grogan, author of Marley & Me “A wise, engaging meditation on dogs, love, and recovery from pain. Come. Sit. Read!” —Lily King, author of Euphoriaand The...

Hello. I am Daniel Handler, the author of this book. Did you know that authors often write the summaries of their books that appear here on the package? You might want to think of that the next time you read something like, ""A dazzling page-turner, this novel shows an internationally acclaimed...

“Like a beautifully-wrapped gift box, full of unexpected pleasures. Alix Strauss proves herself to be an astute and deeply feeling observer of human nature.” —Dani Shapiro, author of Black & White A stunning, wise, and witty second novel from renowned trend journalist Alix Strauss, Based...

These ten treasured stories from the most influential authors of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are selected for their literary importance as well as their dramatic, oral qualities. The following stories are included in this collection: “The One-Million-Pound Bank Note” by Mark...

While T.C. Boyle is known as one of our greatest American novelists, he is also an acknowledged master of the short story and is perhaps at his funniest, his most moving, and his most surprising in the short form. In The Relive Box, Boyle's sharp wit and rich imagination combine with a...