Short Classics

A vintage collection of some of the greatest short stories ever written

Written some 40 years after Moby Dick, Melville's Billy Budd is a moving tale of good versus evil. Set aboard a British navy ship at the end of the eighteenth century, a young, innocent sailor's charm and good nature put the men around him at ease. Ship life agreed with Billy. He made friends quickly and was well liked, which infuriated John Claggart, the ship's cold-blooded superior officer.

A classic work that has charmed generations of readers, this collection assembles Carson McCullers' best stories, including her beloved novella The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. A haunting tale of a human triangle that culminates in an astonishing brawl, the novella introduces readers to Miss Amelia, a formidable southern woman whose cafe serves as the town's gathering place. Among other fine works, the collection also includes "Wunderkind", McCullers' first published story, written when she was only 17, about a musical prodigy who suddenly realizes she will not go on to become a great pianist.

This recording contains four of Katherine Mansfield's best stories. In The Daughters of the Late Colonel, two sisters are recently bereaved; while in Her First Ball a young girl attends her first dance. The Singing Lesson features Miss Meadows, a music teacher in turmoil; and in The Stranger, a middle-aged couple are reunited.

"He travels fastest who travels alone...but not after the frost has dropped below zero 50 degrees or more." (Yukon Code) Jack London’s best short story.

They went in for pie and left with something sweeter... Once upon a time Keri and Jeff were best friends -- and secretly in love with each other. They were inseparable during college, but they lost touch after graduation. When Keri is hired as the new Director of Student Affairs at Evermore University ten years later, she’s shocked to run into her old friend in a pie shop. He’s a bit…different now. Bigger. Stronger. Hotter. And also…dating a man? Jeff and Miguel are finally recovering from a bad break-up with the mercurial woman who they thought they’d spend the rest of their ...

The Teddy Bear is a charming and moving story that will delight both children and adults. Meet Lorena, a young girl who falls in love with a teddy bear displayed at a shop window. She dreams of giving this teddy a home, but her mother is in poor health and cannot afford to buy it for her. Every day, Lorena visits her teddy bear, gazing at him with devotion. Then, one day, she arrives at the shop only to find her teddy bear has disappeared! Oh, No!!! Lorena must do everything she can to find him…

A collection of horror/thriller stories with surprise endings to chill you and thrill you to the bone. The creepers include: FANGS: Harry wakes up one morning and bites his lip because of the fangs that grew in his mouth during the night. CATHEAD CREEK: Fred inherits property in Cathead Creek, NC and discovers all three of his brothers were the victims of a legendary monster. FRESH: Sam's TV died, and a fellow worker offers him a side job robbing graves for a doctor who pays obscenely well for fresh corpses. THE TOWER: Ever since the anesthesiologist administered the drug ketamine for my ...

Welcome to the Monkey House is a collection of Kurt Vonnegut's shorter works. Originally printed in publications as diverse as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and The Atlantic Monthly, what these superb stories share is Vonnegut's audacious sense of humor and extraordinary range of creative vision.

A collection of horror/thriller stories with surprise endings to chill you and thrill you to the bone. The creepers include: THE BLIND MAN: Two career criminals see a blind man with a wad of cash at the mall and follow him home. BAD TO THE BONE: Ted sees a gruesome accident, discovers he can't get enough death and dismemberment, and his graphic videos go viral on the net. DEAL OR NO DEAL: An author who lost his wife in a fatal accident meets a weird man at the bar who says he can bring her back for a price. IDENTICAL: A frightened and confused pregnant woman delivers three identical girls ...

"To Build a Fire," the best-known of Jack London's many short stories, tells the tale of a solitary traveler on the Yukon Trail accompanied only by his dog as they endure the extreme cold. A classic narrative of a battle for survival against the forces of nature, "To Build a Fire" is London at his best. Also included here are "The Red One," "All Gold Canyon," "A Piece of Steak," "The Love of Life," "Flush of Gold," "The Story of Keesh," and "The Wisdom of the Trail."

The Diary of a Madman and Other Stories is a bizarre and colorful collection containing the finest short stories by the iconic Russian writer Nikolai Gogol. From the witty and Kafkaesque "The Nose", where a civil servant wakes up one day to find his nose missing, to the moving and evocative "The Overcoat", about a reclusive man whose only ambition is to replace his old, threadbare coat, Gogol gives us a unique take on the absurd.

Groundbreaking for the time in which they were written, the vampire stories of the 1800s have inspired many modern writers. Enjoy the thrilling stories that originated the genre of vampire fiction.

Inside this delightful collection, you'll uncover seven tales from literary legends whose work shaped the world of writing. From gothic horror to existentialist reflections on life and society, inside you'll also find your fair share of adventures, fantastical places, compelling characters, and moral lessons.

Three years have passed since Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis Moriarty vanished into the abyss of the Reichenbach Falls. In that time the criminals of London have been able to sleep safe in their beds. But the capital has never been in greater need of its protector.

In his second collection, including the iconic and much-referenced title story featured in the Academy Award-winning film Birdman, Raymond Carver establishes his reputation as one of the most celebrated short-story writers in American literature. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love is a haunting meditation on love, loss, and companionship, and finding one's way through the dark.

A collection of horror/thriller stories with surprise endings to chill you and thrill you to the bone. The creepers include: KRAMPUS: Chad, a very naughty boy, is adopted by a European couple who believe in St. Nicholas and Krampus rather than Santa. DEEP SPACE: A meteor shower bombards three astronauts’ spaceship en route to Mars and they are free falling into deep space. THE PUZZLE: Olivia buys a jigsaw puzzle at a yard sale that rekindles memories with her dad but scares her when she puts it together. GRAVE FOR SALE: Dennis hopes to sell the cemetery plot his parents bought for him ...

In a remote part of 19th-century Afghanistan, two British adventurers pursue their ambition to rule an empire. Using betrayal, threats, and guns, they win the respect of a primitive tribe and become worshipped as gods until one day they draw blood, and the game is up. "The Man Who Would Be King" is an action-packed tale about the pitfalls of colonialism and the temptations and evils of power.

A collection of horror/thriller stories with surprise endings to chill you and thrill you to the bone. The creepers include: BLACK AS NIGHT: THE SEQUEL: Norman's two sons disappeared on Halloween; the same night, a masked rider carries a screaming woman in a burlap sack from the abandoned house next door. DISTURBING ELEMENTS: A chemistry prof has a phobia of seeking vengeance on any student who reminds him of the jocks who bullied him in college. CHARLEY REVISITED: Mandy's new book about an invisible playmate jeopardizes her marriage and her life. THE NECKLACE: Hazel inherits her grandma's ...

A collection of horror/thriller stories with surprise endings to chill you and thrill you to the bone. The creepers include: THE KILLER IN THE CLOSET: Elvis awakes with a butcher knife in his gut and calls 911 to save his life. AS RARE AS A WHITE CROW: An Uber driver picks up a fare, and a series of calamities occur on his way to the airport. MASSANUTTAN ACRES: A family enjoys their vacations camping each summer until a truck transporting a polar bear runs off the road. WAXWORKS: Sue discovers the wax figure of Jack the Ripper at the museum looks exactly like her new boyfriend. THE END OF ...