Anthologies
From Kate Chopin’s turn-of-the-century Lousiana, to Gertrude Stein’s war-time Paris, to Alice Walker’s modern-day America, here are twenty-six short stories by the finest women writers of the twentieth century. These well-known and well-loved authors people their stories with vibrant female characters, from all over the world and all walks of life. Separately, each of these stories bears the mark of a skilled writer. Together, they celebrate woman in her many roles—as daughter, mother, worker, wife, lover, sister, and friend. In Tillie Olsen’s classic, “I Stand Here Ironing,” a single mother considers her success in raising a daughter. In Eudora Welty’s “The Worn Path,” an African-American grandmother meets with grace the impudence of a young, white man. In Alice Munro’s “The Office,” a wife who has too many distractions to write at home rents a room in town, only to be constantly interrupted by her landlord. Superbly written, and at once poignant and ironic, these insightful stories capture the essence of being a woman—in all its similarity, and all its diversity.
This mystery anthology features nineteen stories written about, or from the point of view of, children or young adults and includes works by John D. MacDonald, Graham Greene, D.H. Laurence, Katherine Mansfield, Willa Cather, and William Saroyan
The 29 stories in the volume range from the daring and erotic "Eat" by Sapphire to Dorothy Allison's energetic Southern tale "A Lesbian Appetite" to Valerie Miner's suspenseful "Trespassing." Whether its the joy or loss of love, the difficulty of family relations, or the pain of death, these stories bring to life the unique lesbian experience.
Prose and Poetry of the American West is an extraordinarily comprehensive collection of short stories, poems, and essays about the American West that represents the extensive contributions of all its people: men, women, natives, and immigrants. The more than fifty authors included are listed according to their birth-dates; and their production, spanning four and a half centuries, is divided into four periods. Work defines each period and shows how selected authors exemplify it. Among those representing the Emergence Period (1540–1832) of explorers and pioneers entering the American West (and a new state of consciousness) are Pedro de Castañeda, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Jedediah Smith, and Walt Whitman. The Mythopoeic Period (1833–1889) is represented by, among others, Helen Hunt Jackson, Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Andy Adams, Owen Wister, Black Elk, Luther Standing Bear, Stephen Crane, Willa Cather, and John C. Neihardt. In the Neo-mythic Period (1890–1914), such authors as Thomas Hornsby Ferril, Man Sandoz, Frank Waters, Dorothy Johnson, Walter Van Tilburg Clark, Wallace Stegner, Wright Morris, and William Stafford begin revising the old myths of the American West. Finally, in the Neo-western Period (1914 to the present) Edward Abbey, Gary Snyder, James Welch, Jimmy Santiago Baca, and others demonstrate how the land west of the ninety-eighth meridian has shaped the creative consciousness. This admirable anthology, filling a need long felt by readers, shows writers singing about the American West, the land of dreams; then recording great deeds in it; and finally turning to examine their thoughts about it.
Twelve tales of the supernatural include "The Screaming Skull" by J. Marion Crawford, "Ligeia" by Edgar Allen Poe, "Consequences" by Willa Cather, and "A Ghost Story" by Mark Twain
Thirteen terrifying tales to take you on a heart-pounding journey to the dark side! Including: Bodies of the Dead by Ambrose Bierce: Is it your worst fear to be buried alive? Live your greatest nightmare in these four chilling tales. The Golden Rat by Alexander Harvey: A psychiatrist is haunted by a strange power that allows him to see him patients' worst fear manifested in ghostly images. Kerfol by Edith Wharton: A violent and bitter man is brutally murdered. His wife is accused but she pleads innocent, blaming the ghosts of her slain dogs. And ten more tales of horrifying consequences by Arlo Bates, Elia W. Peattie, Willa Cather, F. Marion Crawford, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Lafcadio Hearn, G. Ranger Wormser, Harriet Prescott, Julian Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe.
From Washington Irving to Zora Neale Hurston, Edgar Allan Poe to Allen Ginsberg, more than one hundred writers of the twentieth century pay testament to the unique charms and foibles of Manhattan, in an annotated hundredth-anniversary anthology.
John Updike has selected enduring stories from the eighty-four annual volumes of THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES, and the result is a "spectacular tapestry of fictional achievement" (Entertainment Weekly). Volume 1 of the audio edition features a wide variety of contemporary writers reading classics of the genre, along with authors reading from their own work. "America and the 20th century -- at its best" (Wall Street Journal). Contents: The Other Woman by Sherwood Anderson, read by John Updike. Theft by Katherine Anne Porter, read by Jill McCorkle. Crazy Sunday by F. Scott Fitzgerald, read by George Plimpton. The Interior Castle by Jean Stafford, read by Mary Gordon. Gold Coast by James Alan McPherson, read by James Alan McPherson. The German Refugee by Bernard Malamud, read by Alan Cheuse. The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick, read by Cynthia Ozick. How to Win by Rosellen Brown, read by Rosellen Brown. I Want to Live! by Thom Jones, read by Thom Jones. Birthmates by Gish Jen, read by Gish Jen.
Gathering forty important short stories in a portable and economical format, the second edition includes even more of the fiction instructors want to teach and more of the help student readers need.
Sixteen spine-tingling tales from the dark side of our nation's literary history include stories by Sarah Orne Jewett, Henry James, Mark Twain, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, and other literary luminaries. The collection begins with Edgar Allan Poe’s "Ligeia," a classic Gothic horror tale of a love stronger than death, followed by "The Gray Champion," Nathaniel Hawthorne's fable of a supernatural hero who reappears in times of national danger. Other stories include "Grayling; or, 'Murder Will Out'" by William Gilmore Simms; "The Real Right Thing" by Henry James; "Lady Ferry" by Sarah Orne Jewett; "My Platonic Sweetheart" by Mark Twain; Frank R. Stockton's "The Philosophy of Relative Existences"; "The Upper Berth" by F. Marion Crawford; and "An Itinerant House" by Emma Frances Dawson. Ambrose Bierce's mystery classic, "The Moonlit Road," appears here, along with "The Conquering Will" by Harriet Prescott Spofford; "The Shadows on the Wall" by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman; Edith Wharton's "The Eyes"; "Consequences" by Willa Cather; "Call Me From the Valley" by Manly Wade Wellman; and Parke Godwin's "The Fire When It Comes."
Embracing a wide variety of subjects, this choice collection of 13 short stories represents the work of an elite group of American women writing in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The earliest stories are Rebecca Harding Davis' naturalistic "Life in the Iron Mills" (published in 1861 and predating Émile Zola's Germinal by almost 25 years) and Louisa May Alcott's semiautobiographical tale "Transcendental Wild Oats" (1873). The most recent ones are Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat," an ironic tale of a failed marriage, published in 1926, and "Sanctuary" (1930), Nella Larsen's gripping and controversial tale of contested loyalty. In between is a grand cavalcade of superbly crafted fiction by Sarah Orne Jewett, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Kate Chopin, Willa Cather, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Djuna Barnes, Susan Glaspell and Edith Wharton. Brief biographies of each of the writers are included.
Explore the fascinating lives and loves of the greatest novelists, poets, and playwrights. From William Shakespeare and Jane Austen to Gabriel García Márquez and Toni Morrison, Writers explores more than 100 biographies of the world’s greatest writers. Trace the friendships, loves, and rivalries that inspired each individual and affected their writing, revealing insights into the larger-than-life characters, plots, and evocative settings that they created. You will also uncover details each writer’s most famous pieces and understand the times and cultures they lived in - see how the world influenced them and how their works influenced the world. Writers introduces key ideas, themes, and literary techniques of each figure, revealing the imaginations, and personalities behind some of the world's greatest novels, short stories, poems, and plays. A diverse variety of authors are covered, from the Middle Ages to present day, providing a compelling glimpse into the lives of the people behind the page.
Experience the warmth and wonder of Christmas through the masterful storytelling of some of our greatest literary minds. Sixteen classic stories capture the enduring appeal of the Christmas tradition, all wrapped in lore with heartwarming narratives of redemption and humorous tales of everyday life. Selections include “A Christmas Tree” by Charles Dickens, “A Country Christmas” by Louisa May Alcott, “A Kidnapped Santa Claus” by L. Frank Baum, “A Letter from Santa Claus” by Mark Twain, “The Burglar’s Christmas” by Willa Cather, “The Christmas Banquet” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Christmas; or, the Good Fairy” by Harriet Beecher Stowe, “The Elves and the Shoemaker” by the Brothers Grimm, “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry, and “Where Love Is, There God Is Also” by Leo Tolstoy.