Short Story Books

The Conjure Woman

Charles W. Chesnutt

The Conjure Woman is a collection of short stories by African-American fiction writer, essayist, and activist Charles W. Chesnutt. First published in 1899, The Conjure Woman was Chesnutt's first great..

The Heart of Happy Hollow

Paul Laurence Dunbar

The Heart of Happy Hollow features sixteen short stories that provide rare glimpses into the lives of African Americans after the Civil War. Through characters ranging from schemers to preachers, Paul..

Artists' Wives

Alphonse Daudet

Artists' Wives is a romance novel by Alphonse Daudet. Excerpts from the book:Stretched at full length, on the great divan of a studio, cigar in mouth, two friends—a poet and a painter—were talking tog..

A Collection of Stories, Reviews and Essays

Willa Cather

Willa Siebert Cather was born in 1873 in the home of her maternal grandmother in western Virginia. Although she had been named Willela, her family always called her "Willa." Upon graduating from the U..

The Secret Sharer

Joseph Conrad

"The Secret Sharer" is a short story by Polish-British author Joseph Conrad, originally written in 1909 and first published in two parts in Harper's Magazine in 1910. It was later included in the shor..

Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven

Mark Twain

"Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven" is a short story written by American writer Mark Twain. It first appeared in print in Harper's Magazine in December 1907 and January 1908, and was published in b..

Curious Republic of Gondour

Mark Twain

The Curious Republic of Gondour is a short story by Mark Twain. Twain proposed a state in which all citizens have at least one vote, but where further votes (up to a dozen) could be acquired through e..

Alonzo Fitz and Other Stories

Mark Twain

It was well along in the forenoon of a bitter winter's day. The town of Eastport, in the state of Maine, lay buried under a deep snow that was newly fallen. The customary bustle in the streets was wan..