English Classic Short Stories

Something between a tale and a polemic, these 'fables of reason' are feats of narrative compression and contain much of Voltaire's best and funniest writing. From ribald tales of adultery to conversations between cosmic travellers, the stories in this collection pose moral, philosophical and social questions. Listener and protagonist alike find their assumptions challenged as Voltaire mingles rationality and fantasy.

Ernest Hemingway’s In Our Time provides listeners a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story following lead character Nick Adams through a series of short stories around the time of World War I. It was praised by fellow authors John Dos Passos and F. Scott Fitzgerald for its precision and simplicity in its messaging. With gruff prose and blunt dialogue that would become standards of his career, it established Hemingway as one of the most promising young American writers of his era.

Fairytales are a universal part of childhood. No matter what time or what place you grew up, you have at one point or another heard that classic phrase “once upon a time.” They are usually the first stories we ever hear or read. These types of tales set us up to understand the art of stories and storytelling, and they are certainly worth revisiting. Here in The Blue Fairy Book, the first of Andrew Lang’s beloved collections of classic fairy stories, you will return to the tales you already know.

A spine-tingling collection of the greatest short stories by the father of science fiction, H. G. Wells. 'The Time Machine', 'The Empire of the Ants', 'The Crystal Egg', 'The Sea-Raiders', 'The Door in the Wall', 'A Dream of Armageddon', 'The Country of the Blind', 'Under the Knife', 'The Stolen Body', 'The Plattner Story', 'The Stolen Bacillus', 'The Magic Shop', 'The Inexperienced Ghost', and many more short fiction masterpieces.

A thoroughly engaging collection of great classic tales by the very best American authors. 1. 'From Beyond' by H. P. Lovecraft 2. 'The Mysterious Card and the Card Unveiled' by Cleveland Moffett 3. 'Pigs Is Pigs' by Ellis Parker Butler 4. 'The Club of One-Eyed Men' by Arthur Somers Roche 5. 'Afterward' by Edith Wharton 6. 'The Furnished Room' by O. Henry 7. 'A Descent into the Maelström' by Edgar Allan Poe 8. 'Regret' by Kate Chopin 9. 'The Terrible Old Man' by H. P. Lovecraft 10. 'The Dumb Man' by Sherwood Anderson

"Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" is a short story by the American writer Herman Melville, first serialized anonymously in two parts in the November and December 1853 issues of Putnam's Magazine, and reprinted with minor textual alterations in his The Piazza Tales in 1856.

First published in 1846, Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novella The Double is a classic doppelganger story and the second major work published by the author. It is the story of Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, a government clerk who believes that a fellow clerk has taken over his identity and is determined to bring about his ruin. Considered the most Gogolesque of Dostoyevsky's works, the novella brilliantly depicts Golyadkin's descent into madness in a way that is hauntingly poetic. The Double illustrates Dostoyevsky's uncanny ability at capturing the complexity of human emotion.

From “one of science fiction’s grand masters” (Library Journal), a new reissue of Ray Bradbury’s The Toynbee Convector: a collection of twenty-two stories, including the continuing saga of H.G. Well’s time traveler and his Toynbee Convector, a ghost on the Orient Express, and a bored...

Represented here are 16 short stories by seven great American writers, dating from the 19th and 20th centuries. Different in atmosphere and writing style, they nevertheless caught the mood and concerns of the day in a way that was distinctly American.

They soar through the night, unearthly creatures of legends and lore. Three masters of urban fantasy and paranormal romance explore the rapture of the heavens above, and the darkness below in three all-new stories of angels and guardians, and good and evil. Bestselling author Nalini Singh returns to her Guild Hunter universe to tell the story of vampire Noel, and Sharon Shinn returns to her Samaria series to tell the story of a blind angel and the woman helps him---even though she hates and fears angels.

Words have power. Some words have more power than others. So when a group of monks seek to enlist modern technology in their quest to list all nine billion names of god, there is no telling what may happen.

This is the audio program to play at home over Christmas or during the car journey to see relatives. Dylan Thomas, "The Little Match Girl," and "The Nutcracker" are read by Jenny Agutter with accompanying Tchaikovsky's music - this is a must for Christmas. It contains new recordings as well as some of the finest tracks from the Naxos AudioBooks catalogue.

A sparkling collection of short stories by leading female authors including “Miss Brill” by Katharine Mansfield, “The Lifted Veil” by George Eliot and “A Venetian Night's Entertainment” by Edith Wharton.

Beneath the brilliance that was behind The Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome was a dark side. A dark side which produced magnificent tales of the unseen influences in our lives, such as "Mr. Jones", "The Eyes", "Kerfol", "The Ladie's Maid's Bell", and "The Looking Glass".

Stalky & Co. is a book published in 1899 (following serialization in the Windsor Magazine) by Rudyard Kipling, about adolescent boys at a British boarding school. It is a collection of linked short stories in format, with some information about the charismatic Stalky character in later life. The character Beetle, one of the main trio, is partly based on Kipling himself. Stalky is based on Lionel Dunsterville, M'Turk is based on George Charles Beresford, and Mr. King is based on William Carr Crofts.

A timeless collection of classic short stories by some of the master storytellers of the world. Old Iron by Stacy Aumonier, Odour of Chrysanthemums by D. H. Lawrence, The Idiot by Arnold Bennett, Miss Harriet by Guy de Maupassant, Red Hanrahan by W. B. Yeats, The Doll's House by Katherine Mansfield, The Devil's Spectacles by Wilkie Collins, The Model Millionaire by Oscar Wilde, Miss Bracegirdle does her Duty by Stacy Aumonier, The Piece of String by Guy de Maupassant, Glad Ghosts by D. H. Lawrence.

"The Bet" is one of Chekov's most anthologized stories. A rich banker makes a bet with a poor artist that he cannot voluntarily stay imprisoned for a long period of time. The result of the bet is quite different than either man could have supposed.

A creepy collection of 50 classic ghost, horror and mystery stories which will keep you up all night. 1. "The Well" by W. W. Jacobs; 2. "This Is All" by Barry Pain; 3. "The Beast with Five Fingers" by W. F .Harvey; 4. "The Reticence of Lady Anne" by Saki; 5. "The End of a Show" by Barry Pain; 6. "The Dabblers" by W. F. Harvey; 7. "The Room in the Tower" by E. F. Benson; 8. "August Heat" by W. F. Harvey; 9. "The Idiot" by Arnold Bennett; 10. "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe...and many more.

A northern white couple has relocated to the South to operate a vineyard on a North Carolina plantation. There, they pass their idle hours listening to the stories of one Uncle Julius, who has a deep knowledge of the land. These stories, however, are more than mere entertainments. They all have their time and place, and they offer not only a quiet commentary on the events of the day but also a deeper reckoning with the plantation’s disturbing past.

This fantastic work of fiction that is based on a found manuscipt at a renowned univerity, follows the Great Detective, Sherlock Holmes during a previously unrevealed part of his life...