Other books that might interest you

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  Shunned House The (Unabridged)

  H. P. Lovecraft

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  "The Shunned House" is a horror fiction novelette by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written on October 16-19, 1924. It was first published in the October 1937 issue of Weird Tales.

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  Burning Daylight

  Jack London

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  "Burning Daylight, a novel by Jack London, was published in 1910. It became one of the best-selling books of that year . The story unfolds in two distinct parts:    Yukon Territory and Alaska (1893): The first part of the novel takes place during the Alaskan Gold Rush in the rugged wilderness of the Yukon Territory and Alaska .    San Francisco    San Francisco and the Bay Area: The second part shifts to the bustling city of San Francisco and its surrounding region .  The central character, "Burning Daylight", draws inspiration from the real-life entrepreneur "Borax" Smith but is named after Elam Harnish  . This captivating tale of adventure, ambition, and transformation has also been adapted into films and continues to resonate with readers today.    If you're curious to explore this classic work, you can find it in various formats, including digital editions and printed copies. Whether you're drawn to the wilds of the Yukon or the vibrant streets of San Francisco, Burning Daylight promises an enthralling journey through time and place."

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  The Secret Sharer

  Joseph Conrad

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  A classic tale from the inkwell of Joseph Conrad, the Secret Sharer is a short story set at sea. The narrator, a newly made Captain of his vessel, rescues a man he finds clinging to his ships rope-ladder. That man was once Chief Mate of a nearby ship, the Sephora, and is accused of murder during rough seas. What follows is a short but well formed tale about isolation, duality, and the struggle between the rational and irrational.  
  Narrated by Michael Ward.

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  Top 10 Short Stories The - Kate...

  Kate Chopin

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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. 
   
  It is difficult to propose a more gifted exponent of the short story than Kate Chopin. Her individual jewels may be but a few pages but are laden with atmosphere and character as they run their enchanted course.  Her genius will always endure.   
   
  1 - The Top 10 - Kate Chopin - An Introduction 
  2 - The Storm by Kate Chopin 
  3 - Desiree's Baby by Kate Chopin 
  4 - A Pair of Silk Stockings by Kate Chopin 
  5 - A Respectable Woman by Kate Chopin 
  6 - An Egyptian Cigarette by Kate Chopin 
  7 - The Kiss by Kate Chopin 
  8 - The Locket by Kate Chopin 
  9 - The Lillies by Kate Chopin 
  10 - The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin 
  11 - Ma'ame Pelagie by Kate Chopin

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  The Castle of Otranto (Legend...

  Horace Walpole

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  “He was persuaded he could know no happiness but in the society of one with whom he could for ever indulge the melancholy that had taken possession of his soul.” 
  The Castle of Otranto is a macabre tale that revolves around a haunted castle. Manfred, the lord of Otranto, finds his son, Conrad, smashed by an enormous helmet on his wedding day. It is soon revealed that according to an ancient ambiguous prophecy Conrad's death might have been an ominous event that signifies the end of his lordship. To rectify the situation Manfred decides to marry his son's bride despite having a wife. Will Manfred plot succeed? Is he indeed a true prince of the castle? 
  Walpole got the inspiration for this bizarre story from a dream. He gave his novel a very authentic embellishment using the plan of Strawberry Hill castle for the set in the novel. He also went as far as to make a believable spoof in the Preface to the first edition that the novel was recovered and translated from an old Italian manuscript. Not as culturally present and talked about a title as other Gothic classics like Frankenstein or Dracula, Otranto became the cornerstone text of the genre. The echoings of Otranto are even noticeable in more contemporary gothic tales such as Toni Morrison's Beloved where a building is more than a location but an entire mysterious entity in itself. 
  The Legend Classics series:Around the World in Eighty DaysThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Importance of Being EarnestAlice's Adventures in WonderlandThe MetamorphosisThe Railway ChildrenThe Hound of the BaskervillesFrankensteinWuthering HeightsThree Men in a BoatThe Time MachineLittle WomenAnne of Green GablesThe Jungle BookThe Yellow Wallpaper and Other StoriesDraculaA Study in ScarletLeaves of GrassThe Secret GardenThe War of the WorldsA Christmas CarolStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeHeart of DarknessThe Scarlet LetterThis Side of ParadiseOliver TwistThe Picture of Dorian GrayTreasure IslandThe Turn of the ScrewThe Adventures of Tom SawyerEmmaThe TrialA Selection of Short Stories by Edgar Allan PoeGrimm Fairy TalesThe AwakeningMrs DallowayGulliver’s TravelsThe Castle of OtrantoSilas MarnerHard Times

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  A Diagnosis of Death - From...

  Ambrose Bierce

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  Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was born on 24th June 1842 at Horse Cave Creek in Meigs County, Ohio. His parents were poor but they introduced him to literature at an early age, instilling in him a deep appreciation of books, the written word and the elegance of language.  
  Growing up in Koscuisko County, Indiana poverty and religion were defining features of his childhood, and he would later describe his parents as “unwashed savages” and fanatically religious, showing him little affection but always quick to punish. He came to resent religion, and his introduction to literature appears to be their only positive effect. 
  At age 15 Bierce left home to become a printer’s devil, mixing ink and fetching type at The Northern Indian, a small Ohio paper. Falsely accused of theft he returned to his farm and spent time sending out work in the hopes of being published. 
  His Uncle Lucius advised he be sent to the Kentucky Military Institute. A year later he was commissioned as an Officer.  As the Civil War started Bierce enlisted in the 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment.  
  In April 1862 Bierce fought at the Battle of Shiloh, an experience which, though terrifying, became the source of several short stories. Two years later he sustained a serious head wound and was off duty for several months. He was discharged in early 1865.  
  A later expedition to inspect military outposts across the Great Plains took him all the way to San Francisco. He remained there to become involved with publishing and editing and to marry, Mary Ellen on Christmas Day 1871.  They had a child, Day, the following year.  
  In 1872 the family moved to England for 3 years where he wrote for Fun magazine. His son, Leigh, was born, and first book, ‘The Fiend’s Delight’, was published.  
  They returned to San Francisco and to work for a number of papers where he gained admiration for his crime reporting. In 1887 he began a column at the William Randolph Hearst’s San Francisco Examiner.  
  Bierce’s marriage fell apart when he discovered compromising letters to his wife from a secret admirer. The following year, 1889 his son Day committed suicide, depressed by romantic rejection. 
  In 1891 Bierce wrote and published the collection of 26 short stories which included ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’.  Success and further works including poetry followed.  
  Bierce with Hearst’s resources helped uncover a financial plot by a railroad to turn 130 million dollars of loans into a handout. Confronted by the railroad and asked to name his price Bierce answered “my price is $130 million dollars. If, when you are ready to pay, I happen to be out of town, you may hand it over to my friend, the Treasurer of the United States”.  
  He now began his first foray as a fabulist, publishing ‘Fantastic Fables’ in 1899.  But tragedy again struck two years later when his second son Leigh died of pneumonia relating to his alcoholism.  
  He continued to write short stories and poetry and also published ‘The Devil’s Dictionary’.  
  At the age of 71, in 1913 Bierce departed from Washington, D.C., for a tour of the battlefields where he had fought during the civil war. At the city of Chihuahua he wrote his last known communication, a letter to a friend. It’s closing words were “as to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination,” Ambrose Bierce then vanished without trace.

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