American Short Stories – Best Books Boxed Set (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. 50+ Classics of American LiteratureBy O. Henry, H. P. Lovecraft, Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, Ambrose Bierce, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, Herman Melville, Kate Chopin, Stephen Crane, Bret Harte, Sarah Orne Jewett, Ernest Hemingway, Mary Wilkins Freeman, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, William Dean Howells, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, Louisa May Alcott, Charles W. Chesnutt, William Faulkner, Theodore Dreiser
Length62h 40m
About this audiobook
American Short Stories – Best Books Boxed Set gathers a sweeping canon of American prose, tracing the short story from early national legend and gothic romance to realism, naturalism, modernism, and Southern experimentation. Its range includes uncanny hauntings, frontier sketches, psychological studies, social satire, regional portraits, and compressed tales of disillusionment, making visible the form's remarkable adaptability within American literary history. The contributors represent many of the defining currents of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century letters: the American Renaissance, local color writing, postbellum realism, feminist social critique, African American literary emergence, expatriate modernism, and the modernist reworking of narrative voice and time. Collectively, these writers helped shape the short story into a vehicle for moral ambiguity, vernacular energy, social observation, and formal innovation, offering a layered account of American identity across regions, classes, races, and genders. This boxed set is ideal for readers seeking both pleasure and perspective: a single volume of voices in conversation across generations. It invites study, comparison, and rereading, rewarding attention to style as much as theme, and providing an illuminating entry into the breadth, tensions, and enduring vitality of American short fiction.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- An Introduction draws the threads together, discussing why these diverse authors and texts belong in one collection.
- Historical Context explores the cultural and intellectual currents that shaped these works, offering insight into the shared (or contrasting) eras that influenced each writer.
- A combined Synopsis (Selection) briefly outlines the key plots or arguments of the included pieces, helping readers grasp the anthology's overall scope without giving away essential twists.
- A collective Analysis highlights common themes, stylistic variations, and significant crossovers in tone and technique, tying together writers from different backgrounds.
- Reflection questions encourage readers to compare the different voices and perspectives within the collection, fostering a richer understanding of the overarching conversation.
Audiobook details
GenreLiterary Classics, General Fiction
Length62 hrs 40 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateOct 26, 2020
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1American Short Stories – Best Books Boxed Set (Annotated)
94XX
2Introduction
95XXI
3Historical Context
96XXII
4Synopsis (Selection)
97XXIII
5The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (Mark Twain)
98XXIV
Show all chaptersShow less
6The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg (Mark Twain)
99Daisy Miller – A Study (Henry James) (pt. 1)
7To Build a Fire (Jack London)
100Daisy Miller – A Study (Henry James) (pt. 2)
8A Piece of Steak (Jack London)
101Bartleby the Scrivener (Herman Melville)
9An Odyssey of the North (Jack London)
102Benito Cereno (Herman Melville) (pt. 1)
10I
103Benito Cereno (Herman Melville) (pt. 2)
11II
104Desiree’s Baby (Kate Chopin)
12III
105The Open Boat (Stephen Crane)
13The Gift of the Magi (O. Henry)
106I
14The Ransom of Red Chief (O. Henry)
107II
15The Cop and the Anthem (O. Henry)
108III
16A Retrieved Reformation (O. Henry)
109IV
17The Fall of the House of Usher (Edgar Allan Poe)
110V
18The Tell-Tale Heart (Edgar Allan Poe)
111VI
19The Pit and the Pendulum (Edgar Allan Poe)
112VII
20The Murders in the Rue Morgue (Edgar Allan Poe)
113The Luck of Roaring Camp (Bret Harte)
21The Black Cat (Edgar Allan Poe)
114A White Heron (Sarah Orne Jewett)
22The Birthmark (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
115The Revolt of ‘Mother’ (Mary Wilkins Freeman)
23Rappacini’s Daughter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
116The Yellow Wallpaper (Charlotte Perkins Gilman)
24Rip Van Winkle (Washington Irving)
117Christmas Every Day (William Dean Howells)
25The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Washington Irving)
118Ethan Frome (Edith Wharton)
26The Call of Cthulhu (H. P. Lovecraft)
119Introduction
27I.The Horror in Clay
120Prologue
28II. The Tale of Inspector Legrasse
121I
29III. The Madness from the Sea
122II
30At the Mountains of Madness (H. P. Lovecraft)
123III
31Chapter I
124IV
32Chapter II
125V
33Chapter III
126VI
34Chapter IV
127VII
35Chapter V
128VIII
36Chapter VI
129IX
37Chapter VII
130Paul’s Case (Willa Cather)
38Chapter VIII
131The Abbot's Ghost (Louisa May Alcott)
39Chapter IX
132Chapter I. Dramatis Personae
40Chapter X
133Chapter II. Byplay
41Chapter XI
134Chapter III. Who Was It?
42Chapter XII
135Chapter IV. Feeding the Peacocks
43The Shadow over Innsmouth (H. P. Lovecraft)
136Chapter V. Under the Mistletoe
44I
137Chapter VI. Miracles
45II
138Chapter VII. A Ghostly Revel
46III
139Chapter VIII. Jasper
47IV
140The Wife of His Youth (Charles W. Chesnutt)
48V
141I
49An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (Ambrose Bierce)
142II
50I
143III
51II
144Barn Burning (William Faulkner)
52III
145The Lost Phoebe (Theodore Dreiser)
53Chickamauga (Ambrose Bierce)
146Indian Camp (Ernest Hemingway)
54The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
147Soldier's Home (Ernest Hemingway)
55I
148Big Two-Hearted River (Ernest Hemingway)
56II
149PART II
57III
150The Willow Walk (Sinclair Lewis)
58IV
151I
59V
152II
60VI
153III
61VII
154IV
62VIII
155V
63IX
156An Angel in Disguise (T. S. Arthur)
64X
157I. AFTER A SHADOW.
65XI
158II. IN THE WAY OF TEMPTATION.
66Bernice Bobs Her Hair (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
159III. ANDY LOVELL.
67I
160IV. A MYSTERY EXPLAINED.
68II
161V. WHAT CAN I DO?
69III
162VI. ON GUARD.
70IV
163VII. A VISIT WITH THE DOCTOR.
71V
164VIII. HADN'T TIME FOR TROUBLE.
72VI
165IX. A GOOD NAME.
73The Turn of the Screw (Henry James)
166X. LITTLE LIZZIE.
74Prologue
167XI. ALICE AND THE PIGEON.
75I
168XII. DRESSED FOR A PARTY.
76II
169XIII. COFFEE vs. BRANDY.
77III
170XIV. AMY'S QUESTION.
78IV
171XV. AN ANGEL IN DISGUISE.
79V
172XVI. WHICH WAS MOST THE LADY?
80VI
173XVII. OTHER PEOPLE'S EYES.
81VII
174A Dark-Brown Dog (Stephen Crane)
82VIII
175The Story of an Hour (Kate Chopin)
83IX
176On the Gull's Road (Willa Cather)
84X
177I
85XI
178II
86XII
179III
87XIII
180IV
88XIV
181Scarlet Stockings (Louisa May Alcott)
89XV
182Chapter I. HOW THEY WALKED INTO LENNOX'S LIFE
90XVI
183Chapter II. WHERE THEY LED HIM.
91XVII
184Chapter III. WHAT BECAME OF THEM.
92XVIII
185Analysis
93XIX
186Reflection
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