Short Classics

Virginia Woolf once called Thomas Hardy "the greatest tragic writer among English novelists". His atmospheric novels were often considered shocking upon their publication. In this classic, Clym Yeobright returns to Egdon Heath from Paris, intending to settle down and improve the lives of his townspeople. But the alluring and mysterious Eustacia Vye has other plans. Like so many of Hardy’s masterpieces, The Return of the Native is both a rich character study and a critical examination of Victorian society.

Science Fiction Stories 2 is an anthology of science fiction short stories that transports readers to extraordinary worlds, exploring dystopian futures, post-apocalyptic landscapes, and thrilling adventures in space. Discover the Future Experience the tension in "The Deity Above" as Larry Michaels navigates the eerie silence of his office building, uncovering unsettling secrets. Join the quest in "Salvation Quest" where Larry Drake battles against cosmic forces and personal demons on a perilous journey. Feel the impending doom in "The Encroaching Meteor" as humanity faces an existential ...

"In The Falling World", Jade, sister queen of the Indigo Cloud Court, has traveled with Chime and Balm to another Raksuran court. When she fails to return, her consort, Moon, along with Stone and a party of warriors and hunters, must track them down. Finding them turns out to be the easy part; freeing them from an ancient trap hidden in the depths of the Reaches is much more difficult. "The Tale of Indigo and Cloud" explores the history of the Indigo Cloud Court, long before Moon was born.

Jane Austen wrote Love and Friendship (originally spelled Love and Freindship [ sic]) when she was just 14 years old. The three notebooks that contain her early works, including this story, are currently on display at the Bodleian Library and the British Museum. Taking the form as letters written by the heroine to the daughter of her friend, this story resembles a fairy tale that lampoons the conventions of romantic stories at the time.

Marcovaldo is an unskilled worker in a drab industrial city in northern Italy. He is an irrepressible dreamer and an inveterate schemer. Much to the puzzlement of his wife, his children, his boss, and his neighbors, he chases his dreams - but the results are never the expected ones.

More than 60 stories, poems, and essays are included in this wide-ranging collection by the extravagantly versatile Raymond Carver. Two of the stories - later revised for What We Talk About When We Talk About Love - are particularly notable in that between the first and the final versions, we see clearly the astounding process of Carver's literary development.

Call If You Need Me includes all of the prose previously collected in No Heroics, Please, four essays from Fires, and those five marvelous stories that range over the period of Carver's mature writing and give his devoted fans a final glimpse of the great writer at work. The pure pleasure of Carver's writing is everywhere in his work, here no less than in those stories that have already entered the canon of modern literature.

The Last Hieroglyph is the fifth of the five-volume Collected Fantasies series. Editors Scott Connors and Ron Hilger have compared original manuscripts, various typescripts, published editions, and Smith's notes and letters, in order to prepare a definitive set of texts. The Last Hieroglyph includes, in chronological order, all of Clark Ashton Smith's stories from "The Dark Age" to "The Dart of Rasasfa".

Leo Tolstoy: The Complete Collection includes unabridged recordings of Leo Tolstoy's 3 timeless novels; all his major novellas and short stories; and 4 renowned works of non-fiction in one audiobook, all read by Audie Award-winning narrators.

A collection of horror/thriller stories for readers who would enjoy a stroll through a graveyard after midnight. The creepers include: BLOOD: Danagrees to meet a woman claiming to be his half-sister from their father's illicit affair. THE SPIDER WOMAN: Evelyn inherits her mother's abandoned house, which is infested with spiders. DEAD PEOPLE: Jesse's father wants him to go with him to a wake to see his first dead person. THE CEDAR HOLLOW CURSE: Three girls went missing without a trace in 1998. Now, in 2024, three girls with the same names and ages have disappeared. ECHOES OF THE DAMNED: A ...

A Festive Frolic of Frosty Streets and Fearless Feats! London, 1899: The snowy streets of Victorian London shimmer with holiday cheer, but for Flynn, the spirited Baker Street Irregular, it’s shaping up to be a Christmas calamity. Evicted from his rented room by a greedy landlord, Flynn and his mates are back on the icy cobblestones. Then Sherlock Holmes assigns Flynn a crucial mission: shadow a suspicious stranger. It’s Flynn’s chance to prove himself—but he loses his target in the bustling Christmas shopping crowd, right under Becky’s watchful eye. Determined to redeem himself, ...

Science Fiction Stories 1 is a gripping science fiction anthology that takes readers on a journey through the unknown, exploring dystopian futures, post-apocalyptic worlds, and thrilling adventures in space. Explore the Unknown Embark on a mission in "Rising" where a lone survivor scours a devastated world, driven by a dream of rebuilding civilization. Witness the eerie events in "In The Grip" as a military officer navigates the cultural complexities of an alien world. Experience the haunting "The Spires Of Sapporo" where remnants of an ancient civilization hold secrets that could alter ...

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.

Including the stories "Lispeth", "Beyond the Pale", and "In the Pride of His Youth", this collection tells of soldiers, wise children, exiles, forbidden romances, and divided identities, creating a rich portrait of Anglo-Indian society. Originally published for a newspaper in Lahore when Kipling was a journalist, the tales were later revised by him to re-create as vividly as possible the sights and smells of India for readers at home.

A collection of 25 horror/thriller stories with surprise endings to chill you and thrill you to the bone. These are my latest stories The creepers include: THE JACK THE RIPPER WALKING TOUR: Dana is on assignment in London while a copycat killer is emulating the brutal murders of Jack the Ripper to the letter. THE BELL: A lonely teenager is captivated by a picture of a newly buried young man with a bell affixed to his headstone that's ringing. A BETTER MOUSETRAP: The house Brad has purchased to renovate for profit was too good to be true until he heard the incessant rustling in the walls. ...

The Complete Black Hills 4 Books in one boxed set! Clean and Wholesome American mail order bride historical western short story romance. This series is about four young brides from the East Coast looking for love in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota are about their challenges, their test of faith, and their triumphs of discovering true love and real men. Read all the books Black Hills Series By Best Selling Author Katie Wyatt Cate’s Catastrophe ~ Book #1 Meet Cate, she came from a well-off family in Michigan. She doesn't know any household chores as they have plenty of servants. ...

This audiobook, read by Audie award-winning narrators, includes unabridged recordings of all Mark Twains's greatest works: 12 novels; over 120 of his beloved short stories; Chapters From My Autobiography; 5 pieces of short non-fiction; and 6 pieces of his groundbreaking, wide-ranging travel writing.

A collection of 20 horror/thriller stories with surprise endings to chill you and thrill you to the bone. The nightmares include: THE MAKEOVER: A plastic surgeon seeks revenge for being framed by a malicious, wealthy client who bribes the judge, jury, the attorneys, and the warden to make sure he serves hard time in prison for ten years. The INITIATION: The fraternity brothers have planned a Hell night to top all Hell nights. WHO’S YOUR DADDY: Cecil returns to his hometown for his mother’s funeral, he discovers the father he never knew was a serial killer who devoured his victims. THE ...

The collection that established O’Connor’s reputation as one of the American masters of the short story. The volume contains the celebrated title story, a tale of the murderous fugitive "The Misfit", as well as “The Displaced Person” and eight other stories.

Clues, Chaos, and Catastrophe Under the Big Top! London, 1899: The circus is in town, but danger is in the spotlight. When a clown is found dangling lifeless from the high wire at the Olympia Amphitheater, Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James are called in to investigate. With rivalries, roaring egos, and deadly secrets lurking behind the curtain, the Baker Street team must act fast to stop the next act from ending in tragedy. To infiltrate the tight-knit world of acrobats, fire-eaters, and animal tamers, Lucy and Jack go undercover as magicians, with the ever-curious Becky as their pint-sized ...