Classic English Literature For Teens

A young man gives a present of "a work of art", or so he thinks, with very interesting consequences. This is one of Chekov's most humorous stories.

A man is sentenced to an unusual punishment for having a romance with a king's beloved daughter. Taken to the public arena, he is faced with two doors, behind one of which is a hungry tiger that will devour him. Behind the other is a beautiful lady-in-waiting, whom he will have to marry if he finds her.

In a small village a cruel elderly couple are killing their neighbor's pets with gleeful abandon. When an orphan traveling with a band of gypsies has his beloved kitten killed by the weird old couple, he retaliates in a horrifying act of supernatural revenge.

Wilkie Collins was the author of two of the greatest mysteries ever written, The Moonstone and The Woman in White. However, like Poe before him and Conan Doyle after, he shifted easily from rational domains to the "superrational". Like them, he often preferred to indulge his occult predilection, a lifelong interest. "The Dream Woman" is one his most anthologized stories of the supernatural.

Here is a tale that concerns the incredible power of friendship. The movie Tennessee's Partner (1955), starring John Payne and Ronald Reagan, was based on this story.

Stephen Crane is best known as the author of The Red Badge of Courage, but he also wrote a number of powerful short stories. Crane's writing style is noted for his use of a method that has come to be known as "naturalism", in which characters face very realistic and often bleak circumstances. This excellent and very humorous story is an exception to his usual rather somber stories.

A sentry falls asleep at his post, leading to dire consequences. This is a classic tale about the terrible cost of the Civil War, which divided entire families.

When it comes to short stories, Edgar Allan Poe is considered by many to be the master of terror and the macabre. This is one of his most famous stories. It is set during the torturous times of the Spanish inquisition and is a first-person account of a terrifying psychological ordeal. It a masterpiece of suspense and fear, with just a hint of the supernatural.

Frank Stockton was an American writer and humorist, best known for a series of innovative children's fairy tales that were widely popular. His most famous fable is "The Lady or the Tiger?" (1882), about a man sentenced to an unusual punishment for having a romance with a king's beloved daughter. Other memorable tales are "The Griffin and the Minor Canon", "Old Pypes and the Dryad", and "Mr. Tolman".

Ida Mitchell, a third-year student at the Clifton Academy, is spending the holidays at her boarding-house, unable to go home because her siblings have the measles. Another Ida Mitchell, who is a second-year student at Clifton is also spending the holidays away from home. When a fruit cake intended for Ida is accidentally delivered to the other Ida, third-year Ida can't bring herself to break the truth to second-year Ida, for whom the cake has brightened an otherwise difficult time.

While out for a walk, two young men find themselves on Enderly Rd., known for its poor inhabitants and shabby dwellings. They meet a crying girl on her way home and stop her. Learning that the boys who promised to help decorate the schoolhouse for the examinations to be held on Christmas Eve were backing out, the two young men decide to help out the little girl.