Other books that might interest you

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  Mr Reginald Peacock's Day

  Katherine Mansfield

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  "Mr Reginald Peacock's Day" is a 1920 short story by Katherine Mansfield. It was first published in the New Age on 14 June 1917, and later reprinted in Bliss and Other Stories.
  Reginald is woken up by his wife for breakfast. He is irritated by his wife who is very polite with him. He has a bath, sings for a bit and fathoms he could be an opera singer.

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  Top 10 Short Stories The - The...

  Edith Wharton, Guy de...

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  Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart.  A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. 
   
  In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted ‘Top Tens’ across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author?  
   
  The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme.  Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature. 
   
  Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made.  If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something. 
   
  In this volume we enjoy a favourite device of authors; the story is heading one way and suddenly twists in another direction entirely. In the pens of Ambrose Bierce, Nikolai Gogol, Saki and a host of others where you end up is the very question they propose.  
   
  01 - The Top 10 - The Twist - An Introduction 
  02 - Roman Fever by Edith Wharton 
  03 - The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant 
  04 - The Nose by Nikolai Gogol 
  05 - Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield 
  06 - The Gift of the Magi by O Henry 
  07 - Desiree's Baby by Kate Chopin 
  08 - Man Size in Marble by Edith Nesbit 
  09 - An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce 
  10 - The Open Window by Saki 
  11 - The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

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  Government Inspector The -...

  Nikolái Gógol, Classic...

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  The Government Inspector is a classic satirical play in five acts by Nikolai Gogol. Set in a small provincial Russian town, the play follows a group of corrupt officials who panic when they hear a government inspector is coming incognito. Mistaking a simple traveler for the inspector, they descend into absurdity and chaos.Sharp, ironic, and timeless, this comedy exposes the rot within bureaucracy and human vanity. It has become one of the most important plays in Russian theatre, often described as the only true Russian comedy, and remains universally relevant to systems of power and corruption.

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  How a Muzhik Fed Two Officials

  Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

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  How a Muzhik Fed Two Officials is not just a fable—it is a mirror, polished to a biting shine, reflecting the grotesque logic of power and servitude. In this brief yet mercilessly precise tale, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin strips hierarchy down to its raw absurdity: those who consume and those who are consumed.
  Two officials, stranded in a land without luxury, discover an ingenious solution to their predicament—one that requires neither effort nor skill on their part. Their savior? A humble muzhik, a man shaped by centuries of unquestioning toil. But necessity breeds invention, and soon, the line between duty and exploitation blurs beyond recognition. 
  With razor-sharp irony, Saltykov-Shchedrin lays bare a world where privilege thrives on passivity, and survival itself becomes a grotesque performance. The muzhik, nameless and tireless, embodies an entire class condemned to labor without recognition, while the officials, ludicrous in their entitlement, reveal the disturbing resilience of power, even in the face of absurdity.
  Darkly comic yet chillingly relevant, How a Muzhik Fed Two Officials remains an unflinching satire on authority, dependence, and the silent mechanisms that sustain inequality. A story as brief as it is unsettling—one that lingers long after the last word.

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  The Incredulity of Father Brown

  G.K. Chesterton

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  In the third of his series of Father Brown short stories G.K Chesterton is almost reticent in putting his clerical detective at the forefront of the narrative. 
  In the majority of the tales the diminutive priest makes a somewhat unremarkable entrance as almost an afterthought; a seemingly inconsequential individual whom the colourful personalities that populate the stories might easily overlook. But the beauty of Chesterton’s creation is that Father Brown in his anonymity is precisely placed to observe and penetrate both the souls and minds of men.

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  David Copperfield

  Charles Dickens

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  David Copperfield is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published in serial form between 1849 and 1850 and later as a complete book in 1850. It is widely regarded as one of Dickens's most beloved works and is often considered semi-autobiographical, reflecting many aspects of the author's own life. The story is narrated by the titular character, David Copperfield, who recounts his journey from childhood to adulthood. 
  David Copperfield is born in Blunderstone, Suffolk, six months after his father's death. His early years are spent in relative happiness with his mother, Clara, and their devoted housekeeper, Peggotty. This idyllic childhood is shattered when Clara marries the cruel Mr. Edward Murdstone, who imposes a strict regime on the household alongside his equally harsh sister. After a series of abusive encounters, David is sent away to Salem House, a boarding school run by the sadistic Mr. Creakle.

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