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By: Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897)

Book cover Artists' Wives

By: Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923)

At The Bay by Katherine Mansfield At The Bay

Katherine Mansfield was a prominent Modernist writer of short fiction, and one of New Zealand’s best-known authors. “At the Bay” is a story from her collection The Garden Party.

By: Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893)

Boule de Suif by Guy de Maupassant Boule de Suif

Boule de Suif (1880) is a short story by the late-19th century French writer Guy de Maupassant. It is arguably his most famous short story, and is the title story for his collection on the Franco-Prussian War, entitled "Boule de Suif et Autres Contes de la Guerre" ("Boule de Suif and Other Stories of the War"). John Ford said that his film Stagecoach was in many ways a western rewrite of Boule de Suif.

Book cover The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Volume 1

By: Keith Laumer (1925-1993)

Book cover Gambler's World & The Yillian Way

Here are two stores starring the always unconventional Terrestrial Diplomat, Retief. As a diplomat, Retief does not always follow procedure. Well the truth is that he almost never follows procedure but somehow his wit and strength manage to salvage most situations from the bumbling of his superiors. His sardonic approach to inter galactic negotiations in these two stories is a delight to hear. Despite everything, he manages to save the day and come out on top.

Book cover The Yillian Way

By: Joseph Jacobs (1854-1916)

Book cover Indian Fairy Tales

This book is a fine collection of Indian fairy tales, some are folklore, some are from the Jataka tales, and some from panchatantra.

By: John Ruskin

Book cover The King of the Golden River

When three brothers mortally offend Mr. Southwest Wind, Esquire, their farm is laid waste and their riches lost. Desperate for money, the brothers become goldsmiths and melt down their remaining treasures . . . only to find that the spirit of the King of the Golden River resides with a molded tankard, and knows the secret of the riches of the Golden River. (Introduction by Xenutia)

By: Edna Ferber (1865-1968)

Book cover Buttered Side Down

"And so," the story writers used to say, "they lived happily ever after." Um-m-m—maybe. After the glamour had worn off, and the glass slippers were worn out, did the Prince never find Cinderella's manner redolent of the kitchen hearth; and was it never necessary that he remind her to be more careful of her finger-nails and grammar? After Puss in Boots had won wealth and a wife for his young master did not that gentleman often fume with chagrin because the neighbors, perhaps, refused to call on the lady of the former poor miller's son? It is a great risk to take with one's book-children...

Emma McChesney and Company by Edna Ferber Emma McChesney and Company

This is the final volume in the trilogy following the smart, stylish, divorced and independent businesswoman Emma McChesney in her career from stenographer, then drummer (traveling salesman) to owner of her own company. (The first was Roast Beef, Medium and the second Personality Plus). Edna Ferber first gained success with these stories and later went on to write Show Boat, Giant and other well known books. First published in 1915, Emma's son, Jock, has moved to Chicago with his new wife. Emma decides to sell in South America and proves she has not lost her magic touch...

By: Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940)

Invisible Links by Selma Lagerlöf Invisible Links

Selma Lagerlöf was born in Vaermland, Sweden, in 1858 and enjoyed a long and very successful career as a writer, receiving the Nobel-Price in Literature in 1909. She died in Vaermland in 1940. Invisible Links (Osynliga länkar) is a collection of short stories with an underlying theme about the links that influence and guide people’s actions and lives. It was first published in 1894 and the English translation in 1895. The stories are often set in Lagerlöf’s Vaermland, but they also depict legends and history of Sweden, and some have connections to other works by Lagerlöf. Invisible Links is a good introduction to the writings of Selma Lagerlöf.

By: Sholem Aleichem (1859-1916)

Jewish Children (Yudishe Kinder) by Sholem Aleichem Jewish Children (Yudishe Kinder)

Although written from a child’s perspective, this is not a kids book but a series of funny, poignant, and sometimes disturbing stories about life in a late 19th-century Russian-Jewish village — the world of my grandparents. Sholem Rabinovich (1859-1916) was born in Pereiaslav, Ukraine and later immigrated to New York. His short stories about Tevye and his daughters were freely adapted into the musical FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. Rabinovich’s will contained the following injunction: “Let my name be recalled with laughter or not at all.” His translator, Hannah Berman, was Irish of Lithuanian descent.Some of these stories may be too intense for younger children.

By: William Dean Howells

Book cover Christmas Every Day and Other Stories Told for Children

Five short delightful stories for children, told in the voice of "the papa" to "the girl" and "the boy." William Dean Howells (March 1, 1837 – May 11, 1920) was an American realist author and literary critic. Nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters", he was particularly known for his tenure as editor of the Atlantic Monthly as well as his own prolific writings, including the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day" and the novel The Rise of Silas Lapham. (Reader’s Note for story 3: A pony engine is a small locomotive for switching cars from one track to another.)

Book cover Literature and Life (Complete)
Book cover Shapes that Haunt the Dusk
Book cover Quaint Courtships
Book cover Buying a Horse
Book cover The Daughter of the Storage And Other Things in Prose and Verse
Book cover A Pair of Patient Lovers
Book cover Standard Household-Effect Company, the (from Literature and Life)
Book cover Staccato Notes of a Vanished Summer (from Literature and Life)

By: Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)

Rootabaga Stories by Carl Sandburg Rootabaga Stories

Carl Sandburg is beloved by generations of children for his Rootabaga Stories and Rootabaga Pigeons (which is not in the public domain), a series of whimsical, sometimes melancholy stories he originally created for his own daughters. The Rootabaga Stories were born of Sandburg’s desire for “American fairy tales” to match American childhood. He felt that the European stories involving royalty and knights were inappropriate, and so populated his stories with animals, skyscrapers, trains, corn fairies, and other colorful characters.

By: Ernest Bramah (1868-1942)

Four Max Carrados Detective Stories by Ernest Bramah Four Max Carrados Detective Stories

Ernest Bramah is mainly known for his ‘Kai Lung’ books – Dorothy L Sayers often used quotes from them for her chapter headings. In his lifetime however he was equally well known for his detective stories. Since Sherlock Holmes we have had French detectives, Belgian detectives, aristocratic detectives, royal detectives, ecclesiastical detectives, drunken detectives and even a (very) few quite normal happily married detectives. Max Carrados was however probably the first blind detective.

By: Bret Harte (1837-1902)

Selected Stories by Bret Harte Selected Stories

Bret Harte (1837–1902) was an American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California.

Book cover From Sand Hill to Pine
Book cover Mrs. Skagg's Husbands and Other Stories

A collection of short stories set in the American West at the end of the 19th century.

Book cover Under the Redwoods
Book cover Legends and Tales
Book cover Tales of the Argonauts
Book cover Tales of Trail and Town
Book cover Condensed Novels: New Burlesques
Book cover The Bell-Ringer of Angel's
Book cover Stories in Light and Shadow
Book cover A Protegee of Jack Hamlin's and Other Stories
Book cover Urban Sketches
Book cover Mr. Jack Hamlin's Mediation
Book cover Openings in the Old Trail
Book cover Drift from Two Shores
Book cover Trent's Trust, and Other Stories

By: Robert Barr (1849-1912)

Book cover In a Steamer Chair and Other Stories

Thirteen short stories by one of the most famous writers in his day. Robert Barr was a British Canadian short story writer and novelist, born in Glasgow, Scotland. In London of the 1890s Barr became a more prolific author - publishing a book a year - and was familiar with many of the best selling authors of his day, including Bret Harte and Stephen Crane. Most of his literary output was of the crime genre, then quite in vogue. When Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories were becoming well known,...

By: Jacob Grimm (1785-1863), Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859), and Andrew Lang (1844-1912) (1785-1863)

Personal Collection of Short Tales  compiled by Carmie by Jacob Grimm (1785-1863), Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859), and Andrew Lang (1844-1912) Personal Collection of Short Tales compiled by Carmie

This is a selection of the fairy tales (in English) written by Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm and Wilhelm Karl Grimm in the early 19th Century. These stories are fantastical and although aimed squarely at the flexible mind of a child which can assimilate much stranger concepts than an adult they are quite dark and occasionally brutal. The stakes can be quite high as in Rumpelstiltskin where a terrible bargain is made without due regard to possible future consequences and Tom Thumb who seems forever about to be imprisoned or sliced in two...

By: Sarah Cory Rippey

The Goody-Naughty Book by Sarah Cory Rippey The Goody-Naughty Book

The Goody-Naughty Book was originally published as two books back to back. Opening the book from one end, the reader experiences “The Goody Side” where the children are polite and thoughtful. However, turning the book over and beginning from the other side, one reads “The Naughty Side” where the children are lazy and irritable. These short, moral stories teach children the proper way to behave and that there are consequences if they don’t.

By: Eva March Tappan (1854-1930)

Makers of Many Things by Eva March Tappan Makers of Many Things

How are friction matches made? How do rags and trees become paper? Who makes the dishes on our tables? Published in 1916, this children's book explains the origins of everyday items in an entertaining and informative way. There are plenty of illustrations, so please feel free to read along.

By: Wilhelm Hauff (1802-1827)

Book cover Tales of the Caravan, Inn, and Palace
Book cover The Severed Hand From "German Tales" Published by the American Publishers' Corporation

By: Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875)

Book cover Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid" (Danish: Den lille havfrue, literally: "the little sea lady") is a very well known fairy tale by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince. The tale was first published in 1837 and has been adapted to various media including musical theatre and animated film. But this tale is not the Disney version, all cleaned up and made pretty. This is the way Andersen wrote it...

By: Tom Godwin (1915-1980)

Book cover The Nothing Equation
Book cover Cry from a Far Planet

By: Joseph Lewis French (1858-1936)

Book cover Masterpieces of Mystery In Four Volumes Mystic-Humorous Stories
Book cover Masterpieces of Mystery, Vol. 1 (of 4) Ghost Stories
Book cover Masterpieces of Mystery Riddle Stories

By: John Charles Dent (1841-1888)

The Gerrard Street Mystery and Other Weird Tales by John Charles Dent The Gerrard Street Mystery and Other Weird Tales

John Charles Dent, the author of the following remarkable stories, was born in Kendal, Westmorland, England, in 1841. His parents emigrated to Canada shortly after that event, bringing with them, of course, the youth who was afterwards to become the Canadian author and historian. Mr. Dent received his primary education in Canadian schools, and afterwards studied law, becoming in due course a member of the Upper Canada Bar. He only practised for a few years, then returned to England to pursue a literary career, writing mostly for periodicals...

By: Henry Rider Haggard (1856-1925)

Book cover Hunter Quatermain's Story

By: Various

Book cover Best American Humorous Short Stories

Eighteen short stories by famous and little known authors compassing the period 1839 - 1914. The editor's very extensive introduction is omitted from this Librivox audio book.

By: Randall Garrett (1927-1987)

Book cover The Destroyers
Book cover Belly Laugh
Book cover Fifty Per Cent Prophet
Book cover The Bramble Bush
Book cover ...Or Your Money Back
Book cover The Measure of a Man
Book cover Suite Mentale
Book cover In Case of Fire
Book cover The Asses of Balaam
Book cover Heist Job on Thizar
Book cover Viewpoint

By: Frank Harris (1855-1931)

Book cover Eatin' Crow; and The Best Man In Garotte
Book cover The Sheriff And His Partner

By: Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

Book cover The Miraculous Revenge Little Blue Book #215

By: Charles King (1844-1933)

Book cover Starlight Ranch And Other Stories Of Army Life On The Frontier

Five stories of Army life in the mid to late 19th century. Charles King (1844 – 1933) was a United States soldier and a distinguished writer. He wrote and edited over 60 books and novels. Among his list of titles are Campaigning with Crook, Fort Frayne, Under Fire and Daughter of the Sioux.

By: Owen Wister (1860-1938)

Red Men and White by Owen Wister Red Men and White

These eight stories are made from our Western Frontier as it was in a past as near as yesterday and almost as by-gone as the Revolution; so swiftly do we proceed. They belong to each other in a kinship of life and manners, and a little through the nearer tie of having here and there a character in common. Thus they resemble faintly the separate parts of a whole, and gain, perhaps, something of the invaluable weight of length; and they have been received by my closest friends with suspicion. ...When...

The Jimmyjohn Boss and Other Stories by Owen Wister The Jimmyjohn Boss and Other Stories

This is the fifth published book of Owen Wister, author of the archetypical Western novel, The Virginian. Published in 1900, it comprises eight Western short stories.

By: Richard Harding Davis (1864-1916)

The Boy Scout and Other Stories for Boys by Richard Harding Davis The Boy Scout and Other Stories for Boys

RICHARD HARDING DAVIS, as a friend and fellow author has written of him, was “youth incarnate,” and there is probably nothing that he wrote of which a boy would not some day come to feel the appeal. But there are certain of his stories that go with especial directness to a boy’s heart and sympathies and make for him quite unforgettable literature. A few of these were made some years ago into a volume, “Stories for Boys,” and found a large and enthusiastic special public in addition to Davis’s general readers; and the present collection from stories more recently published is issued with the same motive...

My Buried Treasure by Richard Harding Davis My Buried Treasure

"This is a true story of a search for buried treasure. The only part that is not true is the name of the man with whom I searched for the treasure. Unless I keep his name out of it he will not let me write the story, and, as it was his expedition and as my share of the treasure is only what I can make by writing the story, I must write as he dictates. I think the story should be told, because our experience was unique, and might be of benefit to others. And, besides, I need the money." (From the text)

Book cover Men of Zanzibar

This is the story of Hemingway, who, after a hunting trip in Uganda, settles in Zanzibar for a while to live among the English-speaking expatriate community on that island. While keeping his true identity well to himself, he falls in love with Ms. Polly Adair, the American Belle of the little society. But when he asks her to marry him, it seems that Ms. Adair has a secret...

Book cover Episodes in Van Bibber's Life
Book cover Once Upon A Time
Book cover A Charmed Life
Book cover The Reporter Who Made Himself King
Book cover The Man Who Could Not Lose
Book cover Billy and the Big Stick
Book cover The Consul
Book cover The Nature Faker
Book cover The Messengers
Book cover The Frame Up
Book cover Peace Manoeuvres
Book cover Cynical Miss Catherwaight

This is the story of Miss Catherwaight, collector of "dishonored honors" - medals of honor pawned by the persons they were awarded to. Part of Miss Catherwaight's collection are also the stories behind each award, and she tends to look down on their former owners for giving them away - until she finds a particular token in the shape of a heart...

Book cover Wasted Day

This is a delightful little story about the most successful banker on Wall Street, who finds his philanthropic side when one of his former employees is arrested and needs someone to vouch for his character..

Book cover A Question of Latitude
Book cover The Log of the Jolly Polly

By: Robert Silverberg (1935-)

Book cover Postmark Ganymede
Book cover Happy Unfortunate

Here are two early stories by the well known SF Author Robert Silverberg. The Happy Unfortunate was published first in Amazing Stories in 1957 and explores the angst caused when the human race reaches into space but at the cost of needing to breed a new species; specialized 'spacers' who can withstand the tremendous rigors of acceleration. The Hunted Heroes was published in Amazing stories a year earlier, in 1956. It is a futuristic story that holds great hope for the resilience of the human race after the war destroys most of the world.

Book cover The Hunted Heroes

By: Raymond Z. Gallun (1911-1994)

Book cover The Eternal Wall

By: James Stephens

Book cover There is a Tavern in the Town

The soul of Irish wit is captured in this unique tale of a barstool philosopher, the concluding story from 'Here Are Ladies' by James Stephens. (Introduction by iremonger)

By: Edward Bellamy (1850-1898)

Book cover The Blindman's World 1898
Book cover An Echo Of Antietam 1898
Book cover With The Eyes Shut 1898
Book cover A Love Story Reversed 1898
Book cover At Pinney's Ranch 1898
Book cover The Cold Snap 1898

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