Other books that might interest you

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  Porch Swings Parlors & Pryin’...

  Anne Warner, Edna Ferber, Booth...

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  In the towns where the porch lights glow late, the screen doors creak often, and no secret stays secret for long, life unfolds with charm, chatter, and more than a touch of mischief. 
  Porch Swings, Parlors & Pryin’ Eyes invites you into parlors both prim and peculiar, where romances are whispered behind teacups, rivalries simmer at choir practice, and widows form committees with suspicious speed. Within these sixteen short stories, you’ll find aging sopranos and checker champions, tangled telegrams and moonlit deacons, poker parties gone sideways and gossip spun tighter than a handmade scarf. 
  Each tale captures the distinct rhythms of small-town American life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries—with all its humor, heartbreak, and sly subversion of social norms. These are stories not just of people, but of places—of communities that cradle, confine, and sometimes surprise those who call them home. 
  Pull up a chair, pour something sweet, and don’t be surprised if someone starts talkin’ about you next. 
  Featuring the work of renowned authors and some hidden gems of classic American fiction, including: 
  The Gay Old Dog, by Edna Ferber 
  Melinda's Humorous Story, by May McHenry 
  Friends in San Rosario, by O. Henry 
  The Associated Widows, by Katharine M. Roof 
  The Tale of the Tangled Telegram, by Wilbur D. Nesbit 
  A Village Singer, by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman 
  A New England Nun, by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman 
  The Scarf, by Madeline Yale Wynne 
  The Champion Checker-Player of Ameriky, by James Whitcomb Riley 
  How The Widow Won The Deacon, by William James Lampton 
  Evan Anderson's Poker Party, by Benjamin Stevenson 
  A Rivermouth Romance, by Thomas Bailey Aldrich 
  Not According to Schedule, by Mary Stewart Cutting 
  A Reward of Merit, by Booth Tarkington 
  Sand Flat Shadows, by Carl Sandburg 
  Mrs. Lathrop's Love Affair, by Anne Warner

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  How the Two Ivans Quarrelled...

  Nikolai Gogol

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  Nikolai Gogol was one of the first to use the technique of the grotesque. According to Viktor Shklovsky, Gogol's strange style of writing resembles the "ostranenie" technique of defamiliarization. His early works, such as Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, were influenced by his Ukrainian upbringing, Ukrainian culture and folklore.
  HOW THE TWO IVANS QUARRELLED: A fine pelisse has Ivan Ivanovitch! splendid! And what lambskin! deuce take it, what lambskin! blue-black with silver lights. I'll forfeit, I know not what, if you find any one else owning such a one. Look at it, for heaven's sake, especially when he stands talking with any one!

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  Top 10 Short Stories The - Saki...

  Saki Saki

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  The Top Ten -  Saki - An Introduction 
   
  The name H H Munro is obscured beneath the literary mantle of his nom de plume; Saki.  A writer of his times, the stories perfectly portray society’s whims and tastes in a delicate yet at times, barbed humour.  A divine wit who conjured words into quite extraordinary works. 
   
  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. 
   
  1 - The Top Ten - Saki - An Introduction 
  2 - The Lumber Room by Saki 
  3 - Tobermory by Saki 
  4 - The Open Window by Saki 
  5 - The Reticence of Lady Anne by Saki  
  6 - The Hounds of Fate by Saki 
  7 - Mrs Packletide's Tiger by Saki 
  8 - The Unrest Cure by Saki 
  9 - The Music on the Hill by Saki 
  10 - Sredni Vashtar by Saki 
  11 - The Interlopers by Saki

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  Clairvoyance - From their pens...

  D K Broster

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  Dorothy Kathleen Broster was born on 2nd September 1877 at Devon Lodge in Grassendale Park, Garston, Liverpool. 
  At 16, the family moved to Cheltenham, where she attended Cheltenham Ladies' College and then on to St Hilda’s College, Oxford to read history, where she was one of the first female students, although at this time women were not awarded degrees. 
  Broster served as secretary to Charles Harding Firth, a Professor of History for several years, and collaborated on several of his works. Her first two novels were co-written with a college friend, Gertrude Winifred Taylor. 
  With the Great War interrupting her literary ambitions she served as a Red Cross nurse at a Franco-American hospital, but returned to England with a knee infection in 1916.  
  After the war, she moved near to Battle in East Sussex and took up writing full-time.  
  In 1920 she at last received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from Oxford. 
  Her novels, mainly historical fiction, peaked in popularity with ‘The Flight of the Heron’, in 1925, a best-seller followed up by two sequels. 
  As well as poetry and various articles she also wrote several short stories, the best known of which is a classic of weird fiction ‘The Couching at the Door’ in which an artist appears to be haunted by a mysterious entity. 
  An intensely private individual many readers deduced from her name that she was both a man and Scottish. 
  D K Broster died in Bexhill Hospital on 7th February 1950.  She was 73.

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  Rikki Tikki Tavi

  Rudyard Kipling

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  From Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book, this is the story of the adventures of the young Indian Mongoose, Rikki Tikki Tavi, who saves a young boy and his family from the deadly snakes lurking in their garden. This classic tale of the loyal mongoose is narrated by Chikondi Chanthunya, who brings to life the valiant Rikki Tikki's struggles, and the lengths to which he must go to protect his adoptive human family.

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  Great Expectations

  Charles Dickens

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  Great Expectations, written by Charles Dickens and first published in 1861, is a classic novel that follows the life of an orphaned boy named Pip. Through a series of unexpected events, Pip embarks upon a journey of self-discovery and maturity. Along the way, he meets a variety of colorful characters and learns valuable life lessons. Great Expectations is an uplifting story of hope, perseverance, and the power of redemption. It is a timeless tale of courage and determination that will continue to inspire generations to come. 
  Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England, and lived in London for much of his life. He was the second of eight children and had a difficult childhood. He was forced to leave school at the age of twelve and start working at a factory to help support his family. Despite his difficult circumstances, Dickens was an avid reader and a talented writer. He began publishing his works in 1833, and quickly gained fame and popularity. 
  Throughout his career, Dickens wrote some of the most influential works of the 19th century, exploring themes of morality, poverty, and social justice. He was also an outspoken critic of Victorian-era injustices, particularly those experienced by the poor. His works were often seen as critiques of the social and political issues of his time. 
  Dickens' popularity has endured over the years and his works are still widely read today. His novels have been adapted and re-imagined countless times, and his characters and stories have become part of the English literary canon. He is remembered as one of the most influential authors of all time, and his works have shaped generations of readers.

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