Paulownia is a collection of seven stories by three Japanese authors from the late 19th and early 20th century. Mori Ōgai was an army surgeon who was sent to study in Germany, where he developed an interest in Western literature. His most famous work is The Wild Geese (Gan). This collection contains his short stories Takase Bune, Hanako, and The Pier. Nagai Kafū's writings center mostly around the entertainment districts of Tokyo with their geisha and prostitutes. Here, his stories The bill-collecting and Ukiyo-e are presented...

This is a collection of short stories by Tudor Jenks. Those stories are all written and composed in the way of a fairy tale, but they are not primarily aimed at children. The stories contain excellent satire, and are generally very funny and enjoyable. - Summary by Carolin

An entertaining selection of “modern” ghost stories selected “to include specimens of a few of the distinctive types of modern ghosts, as well as to show the art of individual stories.”Sure to please the love of the supernatural in all of us!

A collection of folklore stories accumulated during the Islamic Golden Age, The Arabian Nights Entertainments has entertained and fascinated readers for centuries. The book centers on a frame story concerning the sultan Shahrayah and his wife Scheherazade, who cleverly narrates captivating stories to her husband each night in order to save herself from his retribution and live another day. As a result the book encourages the literary technique of a story within a story. The frame story begins when the sultan Shahrayar learns of his brother’s adulterous wife and subsequently discovers his own wife is guilty of infidelity...

Published in 1910, The Lilac Fairy Book is the last book in the series of fairytale collections known as Andrew Lang's “Coloured” Fairy Books and features stories from various folklores and cultures including Welsh, Portuguese, Scottish, Italian, and many other foreign literary branches. Moreover, the collection is a gem in the short story genre due to the fact that Lang collected some of the featured stories from foreign languages and made them available to English audiences. Featuring 33 stories, The Lilac Fairy Book offers a different perspective to the happy-ever-after fairytales most people are accustomed to and expect...

Most parents know and understand the value of children's stories. Reading aloud to your children becomes an occasion for family warmth and bonding. But quite apart from this, the true importance of introducing children to fiction helps them to make sense of the real world they will have to encounter at some later stage. Stories also give them hope, teach moral values and help them to understand the complex nature of the society that they will ultimately have to live in. Children's Short Works Vol 001 contains ten delightful traditional tales...

“The House that Jack Built” is a standard of juvenile literature that delights children and adults alike with the increasingly lengthy sentences, stretched to the breaking point, that make up its narrative. Through a chain of events, beginning with a rodent eating some grain and culminating in a festive wedding, children learn that playing with grammar can be fun! You can read along with this recording.

The Lords of the Housetops reveals the cat through the creative lenses of 13 authors. Consequently, this carefully chosen collection of stories is as complex, charismatic and clever as a cat.

Reginald in Russia is the title story in a collection of fifteen witty and satirical stories, sketches and one "playlet" by that master of the short story H. H. Munro, better Known as Saki. The stories are: Reginald in Russia -- The Reticence of Lady Anne -- The Lost Sanjak -- The Sex That Doesn't Shop -- The Blood-feud of Toad-Water -- A Young Turkish Catastrophe -- Judkin of the Parcels -- Gabriel-Ernest -- The Saint and the Goblin -- The Soul of Laploshka -- The Bag -- The Strategist -- Cross Currents -- The Baker's Dozen (A Playlet) -- The Mouse.

Science fiction (abbreviated SF or sci-fi with varying punctuation and case) is a broad genre of fiction that often involves sociological and technical speculations based on current or future science or technology. This is a reader-selected collection of short stories originally published between 1931 and 1963, that entered the US public domain when their copyright was not renewed. Summary by Cori Samuel, with Wikipedia input.

The Short Ghost Story Collection contains ten classic spooky tales written by such master craftsmen as Algernon Blackwood, Charles Dickens, Bram Stoker and Saki among others. The stories range from haunted houses to reincarnation (as a predatory otter), ancient curses in which marble statues come alive and wreak a horrible revenge and a long narrative poem that describes a dialog between a ghost and a human being. This anthology features authors like Lewis Carroll and E Nesbit who are traditionally regarded as children's writers and other practitioners of the paranormal like American writer Mary E...

The Short Mystery Story Collection by Various is a real treat for intrigue enthusiasts! This volume features such greats as Ambrose Bierce, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Anton Chekov. Some unexpected names like P G Wodehouse and Kate Chopin also crop up, bending their prodigious talents to the genre. The ten stories contained in this volume range from events as diverse as the mysterious death of a sea-captain in a seedy boarding house, a group of women who deal with a crime committed by a friend,...

If you find yourself with nothing particular to do in an airport, train or bus or you've got a quiet evening to yourself in a hotel room or you're facing the delicious prospect of an extended lunch or tea break, why not pick up Coffee Break Collection 001 and enjoy the experience? This anthology has a selection of humorous pieces guaranteed to keep you entertained. Opening with a master of the genre, PG Wodehouse, the first story is a pseudo-scholarly treatise on football captains! A delightful piece follows – Beyond Pandora by RJ Martin with its memorable opening line, “The ideal way to deal with a pest...

In this celebration of diversity, learn about the myriad histories and cultures behind our volunteers.

In this collection of Russian stories, editor and compiler Thomas Seltzer selects from a range of the best examples of 19th and early 20th century Russian literature. As a survey of famous authors at the height of the powers, as well as some writers who have been unjustly neglected, this anthology is indispensable.

“Brazilian Tales” is a collection of six short stories selected by Isaac Goldberg as best representative of the Brazilian Literature of his period – the end of the 19th century. His comprehensive preface aims at familiarizing the reader with a literature that was – and still is – virtually unknown outside the boundaries of its own land, and the pieces chosen by Goldberg to be translated belong to writers that reached popularity and appreciation while still alive. This “pioneer volume”, as the translator himself puts it, still keeps its charm and interest as a way of offering to the English speaking public some “sample cases” of Brazilian Literature.

The Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, is a work of enormous proportions. Setting out with the simple goal of offering "American households a mass of good reading", the editors drew from literature of all times and all kinds what they considered the best pieces of human writing, and compiled an ambitious collection of 45 volumes (with a 46th being an index-guide). Besides the selection and translation of a huge number of poems, letters, short stories and sections of books, the collection offers, before each chapter, a short essay about the author or subject in question...

This is a collection of 20 short stories and long-form poetry by American women writers.

This is a collection of short humorous works first published before 1923.

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes was a British TV series from the early 70s that dramatized stories written contemporaneously with the Sherlock Holmes stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This anthology contains twelve of the thirteen stories adapted as episodes for the first season. Sadly, one story, "The Missing Witness Sensation" by Ernest Bramah, is not public domain in the U.S., but can be read in the anthology Max Carrados Mysteries.

A collection of 48 wonderful English language stories from Sholem Alechem, I. L. Perez, Shalom Asch, and others. Tales of humour and drama, tragedy and pathos set mostly in the Jewish communities of 19th-century eastern Europe, Russia, and the Ukraine. Translated from Yiddish by Helena Frank.

Are you wishing sometimes that you had a good book which you don't know, that you might just read and enjoy? The goal of this collection is to introduce you to as many books as possible. Some are well known, some are not.

This is a collection of city stories, fiction or non-fiction, in English and published before 1923. Contributions have been chosen by the reader himself.

This is the 28th Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select and read stories or poems, fiction or non-fiction pieces of fifteen minutes' duration or less, suitable for short commutes and coffee breaks. The subject for this collection is "HOBBIES"... and the collection is full after 20 pieces have been submitted.

This collection comprises short stories, poems, a little bit of history and a little bit of ornithology, all with ruby connections. The reader greatly enjoyed searching out suitable gems for inclusion in this celebration of her own Ruby Wedding Anniversary.

Children's Short Works Collection 022: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

A collection of twenty stories featuring ghoulies, ghosties, long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night. Expect shivers up your spine, the stench of human flesh, and the occasional touch of wonder.

Science fiction is a genre encompassing imaginative works that take place in this world or that of the author’s creation where anything is possible. The only rules are those set forth by the author. The speculative nature of the genre inspires thought and plants seeds that have led to advances in science. The genre can spark an interest in the sciences and is cited as the impetus for the career choice of many scientists. It is a playing field to explore social perspectives, predictions of the future, and engage in adventures unbound into the richness of the human mind. - Summary by Amy Gramour

This collection comprises 20 short stories of various genres, chosen by the readers. Authors include Saki, Lord Dunsany, Rudyard Kipling, Rex Beach, Banjo Paterson, Chekhov and Montesquieu.

These eighteen stories were published in 1915, in the midst of World War I. "Published For The Times' Fund For The Sick And Wounded" - Summary by Book's title page and david wales

Science fiction is a genre encompassing imaginative works that take place in this world or that of the author’s creation where anything is possible. The only rules are those set forth by the author. The speculative nature of the genre inspires thought and plants seeds that have led to advances in science. The genre can spark an interest in the sciences and is cited as the impetus for the career choice of many scientists. It is a playing field to explore social perspectives, predictions of the future, and engage in adventures unbound into the richness of the human mind.

This collection comprises 20 short stories of various genres, chosen by the readers. Contributions include works from Guy de Maupassant, Rudyard Kipling, Ray Bradbury, Anton Chekhov, and Gustave Flaubert, among others. - Summary by Ruth Golding

’s Short Story Collection 065: a collection of 20 short works of fiction in the public domain read by a variety of members.

Another great collection of short stories in English, selected and read by readers.

A collection of 20 short stories selected and read by readers in English. 

Another fantastic selection of 20 short stories selected by readers and read in English.

O. Henry, P.G. Wodehouse, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy Parker and Jack London were among the authors selected by readers for this, the 69th volume of short stories. Sit back and enjoy!

Children's Short Works Collection 029: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

Children's Short Works Collection 025: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

Science fiction is a genre encompassing imaginative works that take place in this world or that of the author’s creation where anything is possible. The only rules are those set forth by the author. The speculative nature of the genre inspires thought and plants seeds that have led to advances in science. The genre can spark an interest in the sciences and is cited as the impetus for the career choice of many scientists. It is a playing field to explore social perspectives, predictions of the future, and engage in adventures unbound into the richness of the human mind...

Children's Short Works Collection 032: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

This is the thirteenth collection of our "coffee break" series, involving public domain works that are between 3 and 15 minutes in length. These are great for study breaks, commutes, workouts, or any time you'd like to hear a whole story and only have a few minutes to devote to listening. The theme for this collection is "The Weather", where the weather conditions are significant. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry... this selection contains them all.

Mysteries, fantasy, family and hardship all make appearances in this, the 70th volume of short stories in the English language, selected and read by readers.

Children's Short Works Collection 028: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

Children's Short Works Collection 031: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

Romance and mystery abound in this, the seventy-first collection of short stories selected and read by volunteers.

This is the fourteenth collection of our "coffee break" series, involving public domain works that are between 3 and 15 minutes in length. These are great for study breaks, commutes, workouts, or any time you'd like to hear a whole story and only have a few minutes to devote to listening. The theme for this collection is "New Beginnings", where some kind of change or new start is significant. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry... we have them all.

Science fiction is a genre encompassing imaginative works that take place in this world or that of the author’s creation where anything is possible. The only rules are those set forth by the author. The speculative nature of the genre inspires thought and plants seeds that have led to advances in science. The genre can spark an interest in the sciences and is cited as the impetus for the career choice of many scientists. It is a playing field to explore social perspectives, predictions of the future, and engage in adventures unbound into the richness of the human mind. -A. Gramour

Children's Short Works Collection 026: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

This is the sixteenth collection of our "coffee break" series, involving public domain works that are between about 3 and 15 minutes in length. These are great for study breaks, commutes, workouts, or any time you'd like to hear a whole story and only have a few minutes to devote to listening. The theme for this collection is "Crime", where crime or criminals are significant. readers have chosen a combination of social commentaries, newspaper reports of true crimes and criminals, letters, fictional accounts of the life of the criminal and short 'whodunnit' mysteries. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

A diverse collection of short stories selected and read in English by readers. This time, we delve into the works of Virginia Woolf, Mark Twain, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Guy de Maupassant, Saki and others to bring you tales of mystery, the thought-provoking, the salutary and the heart-warming. So sit back and enjoy the 72nd Short Story Collection!

This is the seventeenth Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select English language public domain works of about 15 minutes or less in duration -- perfect to listen to during commutes, workouts or coffee breaks. The topic for this collection is health and fitness... views on these, including physical activity, nutrition and sport, have changed drastically over the years. Readers have chosen selections on subjects ranging from judo and walking to advice for the nutrition and education of children, Summary by Lynne Thompson

A diverse collection of short stories selected and read in English by readers. This time, we delve into the works of Saki, Katherine Mansfield, Jack London, Lord Dunsany and others to bring you tales of mystery, the thought-provoking, the salutary and the heart-warming. So sit back and enjoy the 73rd Short Story Collection!

A diverse collection of short stories selected and read in English by readers. This time, we delve into the works of Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Dunsany, Ambrose Bierce and Edgar Allen Poe and others to bring you tales of mystery, the thought-provoking, the mystical and the amusing. So sit back and enjoy the 74th Short Story Collection!

Children's Short Works Collection 027: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

A diverse collection of short stories selected and read in English by readers. This time, we delve into the works of Carolyn Wells, Egerton Castle, Lucy Maud Montgomery and Stephen Leacock and others to bring you tales of mystery, poignant romance, the quirky and the amusing. So sit back and enjoy the 75th Short Story Collection!

This is the eighteenth Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select English language public domain works of about 15 minutes or less in duration -- perfect to listen to during commutes, workouts or coffee breaks. The topic for this collection is pirates... a rich source of material. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, essays... the romance of a life on the ocean waves and the danger posed by the 'bad boys '; but sometimes the law catches up with them.

A diverse collection of short stories selected and read in English by readers. This time, we delve into the annals of Arthur Conan Doyle's detective stories, Robert Louis Stevenson's cynical observations on life, a classic tale from The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night, adventures on the high seas by Bessie Chandler and more to bring you excitement, mystery and maybe a smile. So sit back and enjoy the 76th Short Story Collection!

Children's Short Works Collection 037: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

A diverse collection of short stories selected and read in English by readers. The ever-popular detective stories of Arthur Conan Doyle are joined by humor from Charles Dickens and Nathaniel Hawthorne as well as some weird and creepy selections to satisfy every taste. So sit back and enjoy the 77th Short Story Collection!

Children's Short Works Collection 030: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

Children's Short Works Collection 034: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

Children's Short Works Collection 041: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

A diverse collection of short stories selected and read in English by readers. The ever-popular detective stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, including the demise of Sherlock Holmes, the quirky Ambrose Bierce and Bill Nye and the wistful Soul of the Violin will keep you entertained and amused in this, the 78th Short Story Collection!

A diverse collection of short stories selected and read in English by readers. The ever-popular detective stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, dark stories from Algernon Blackwood and the quirky from Bill Nye, Ambrose Bierce and O. Henry will keep you entertained and amused in this, the 79th Short Story Collection brought to you by some of your favorite readers.

A diverse collection of short stories selected and read in English by readers. This time, we delve into the works of H.G. Wells, Oscar Wilde, Lord Dunsany, Poe and others to bring you tales of mystery, horror, puzzling and the amusing. So sit back and enjoy the 80th Short Story Collection!

The Coffee Break Collections are themed anthologies, selected and read by readers. Each short piece is fifteen minutes long, or less -- perfect for coffee breaks, commutes and work outs. Essays, prose, fiction, non-fiction, poetry -- who knows what gems will be uncovered? Spring is the time we see plants and flowers, dormant over the cold winter months, burst into life; and they make their appearance here. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

The Coffee Break Collections are themed anthologies, selected and read by readers. Each short piece is fifteen minutes long, or less -- perfect for coffee breaks, commutes and work outs. Essays, prose, fiction, non-fiction, poetry -- who knows what gems will be uncovered? In this collection, we explore old age -- grandparents, retirement, wisdom, decline. It is an opportunity to reflect on mortality and depth of experience. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

readers have come together to bring you another diverse collection of short stories. This anthology brings you selections from Thomas Hardy, Lord Dunsany, Saki, Arthur Conan Doyle and many others to delight and mystify. So pull up a chair, sit back and let us transport you to another place.

A collection of pieces, both fiction and non-fiction, that have as its subject a word beginning with a specific letter of the English alphabet. Subjects can range from coffee to tea, animals to vampires, law to emotions.

A diverse collection of short stories selected and read in English by readers. The ever-popular detective stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, tales of dark times of war and conflict and more upbeat selections from Jane Austen and L.M. Montgomery round out this, the 82nd edition of the Short Story Collections.

This is the twenty-first Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select English language public domain works of about 15 minutes or less in duration -- perfect to listen to during commutes, workouts or coffee breaks. The topic for this collection is fairy tales... traditional children's tales, tall stories and notorious scams and the authors of thm may be uncovered! Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, essays... all are welcome here.

This is the twenty-second Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select English language public domain works of about 15 minutes or less in duration -- perfect to listen to during commutes, workouts or coffee breaks. The topic for this collection is Days Gone By. All pieces were of a historical nature at the time written . Ancient Rome, Greece or Egypt, medieval Europe, the early days of the American colonies.

This is the twenty-third Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select English language public domain works of about 15 minutes or less in duration -- perfect to listen to during commutes, workouts or coffee breaks. The topic for this collection is Mysteries, Riddles and Conundrums. Short mystery fiction, puzzles that have baffled generations, whether solved or unsolved and anything our forefathers have struggled to explain. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, essays...who knows what you will discover?

2019 collection of items with a Christmas theme containing traditional stories, Christmas traditions, Christmas cakes. We hope you will enjoy it.

This is the twenty-fourth Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select English language public domain works of about 15 minutes or less in duration -- perfect to listen to during commutes, workouts or coffee breaks. The topic for this collection is Ghosts, Ghouls and Spooky Things in honor of Halloween. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, essays... all chill and perplex.

Children's Short Works Collection 033: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

This is the twenty-fifth Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select English language public domain works of about 15 minutes or less in duration -- perfect to listen to during commutes, workouts or coffee breaks. The topic for this collection is water, a subject that has attracted Archimedes, Shelley and Masefield, to name but a few.

Children's Short Works Collection 038: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.

And so we present the 84th Short Story Collection! Each tale is selected and read by a volunteer. Once again, we have a wide variety of stories, from the amusing to the perplexing. Zane Grey, Maxim Gorky and H.G. Wells are among the authors selected this time round.

This is the 26th Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select and read poems, fiction and non-fiction pieces of fifteen minutes' duration or less. The subject for this collection is "It's a Small World". Readers have interpreted this in their own way, so we have selections such as Asteroids, Small Country Houses of Today and stories for "small people", such as Jack and the Beanstalk.

The Black Cat was a monthly literary magazine, publishing original short stories, often about uncanny or fantastical topics. Many writers were largely unknown, but some famous authors also wrote original material for this magazine. This is the very first issue, offering the following 7 stories: "In gold time", by Roberta Littlehale: in wild-west days, when two rivals love the same woman, tragedy ensues "The unturned trump", by Barnes MacGreggor, pseudonym of H. D. Umbstaetter : to while away the...

This is a collection of 20 stories and/or poems, contributed by volunteers, pertaining to dreams.

The Black Cat was a monthly literary magazine, publishing original short stories, often about uncanny or fantastical topics. Many writers were largely unknown, but some famous authors also wrote original material for this magazine. In this second issue are included the following 8 stories: "A Calaveras hold-up", by Roberta Littlehale: can love make a man mend his ways or are some relationships doomed from the start ? "From a trolley post", by Margaret Dodge: a boring bus-stop wait is interrupted...

This is the 27th Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select and read poems, fiction and non-fiction pieces of fifteen minutes' duration or less. In honor of the Super Bowl, the subject for this collection is "Sports".

The Black Cat was a monthly literary magazine, publishing original short stories, often about uncanny or fantastical topics. Many writers were largely unknown, but some famous authors also wrote original material for this magazine. The following 6 stories are included in this third issue: "The great star ruby", by Barnes MacGreggor, pseud. of H. D. Umbstaetter : a man tells the thrilling story of the theft of a very valuable ruby "The interrupted banquet", by René Bache : at this strange dinner party, a young man is told some shocking news by the other guests "The archangel", by James Q...

This is the 85th short story collection. Once again, readers selected stories covering a wide variety of subjects. Several stories by Anna Cora Mowatt take a quirky look at married life, Kipling's India and a lesson for a king are included in this anthology.

Children's Short Works Collection 043: a collection of 15 short works for children in the public domain read by a variety of members.