The Top Ten Short Stories - British Women


Unabridged Audiobook

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Book
Narrator
Release Date
January 2021
Duration
7 hours 33 minutes
Summary
The American literary tradition has, in a far shorter span of time than others throughout history, achieved a glowing and glittering reputation.From its transatlantic roots it has absorbed the sons and daughters of other cultures, other lands and made them part of her own.America prides itself on liberty, on justice for all and, if you are a wealthy white man, that is essentially true. Sadly, many other segments of society find it difficult to feel or become part of this endeavour.Within this chronological history of the American short story, that prejudice has helped shape the borders of those two endless questions about any anthology. Why that story? Why that Author?We made some hard choices. We start with Uriah Derrick Dárcy, an unlikely American name and, to all intents, it appears to be a pseudonym, about whom little is known or can be verified. He leads our literary parade. From here leviathans appear on a regular basis; Hawthorne, Poe, Melville, Twain but also note how many women are here and not just Stowe, Alcott and Chopin. Women’s status as writers is often neglected or undervalued, predominantly due to their second-class social status throughout much of history but their stories, their angles of approach to writing are both expertly crafted and refreshing. Another stain on the social and cultural fabric of American has been that of Race. Black people were harshly and unfairly treated as a matter of course. The Civil War may have opened the door but in reality little changed. The majority of the stories included here written by black authors are disturbing in the wrongs they were accused of, and the burdens they were forced to carry. This eye-opening literature enables us to once more take stock and applaud and bring some glimmers of recognition to their struggles and their art. There are some authors, liberally sprinkled throughout, both male and female who may previously have escaped your attention. Enjoy them. Adore them. Make them part of your everyday reading and listening. These forgotten voices are fine examples both of their craft, their art, and their take on society as it was then.In the period we cover from the late 18th Century, around the time of the American Revolution, up until the catastrophe of World War 2, the printing press was creating a market to share words. With industrialization and a large swathe of people eager to be distracted from hard working lives, a plethora of magazines and periodicals shot up, all clamoring for works to publish, to share those words, to introduce new ideas and explain how some of us view ourselves and each other. Some of these authors were only published that way, one story wonders—hitched to the fading star of a disposable periodical. And, of course, the elephant in the room was the English. In its early days US copyright law was non-existent and didn’t recognise anyone else’s. Publishers were free to take the talents of Dickens or Trollope and freely print it without permission or coin. Competing against that, gave you a decided disadvantage.Within these stories you will also find very occasional examples of historical prejudice. A few words here and there which in today’s world some may find inappropriate or even offensive. It is not our intention to make anyone uncomfortable but to show that the world in order to change must reconcile itself to the actual truth rather than put it out of sight. Context is everything, both to understand and to illuminate the path forward. The author’s words are set, our reaction to them encourages our change.Within this melting pot of styles, genres and wordplay one fact stands out: The American short story Literary tradition has a strong, vibrant and almost inclusive history, if you know where to look. Which is here. 01 - The American Short Story - A Chronological History - A Complete History - An Introduction02 - The Black Vampyre by Uriah Derick D'Arcy03 - The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving04 - Peter Rugg, The Missing Man - Part 1 by William Austin05 - Peter Rugg, The Missing Man - Part 2 by William Austin06 - The Eclipse by James Fenimore Cooper07 - The Quadroons by Lydia Maria Child08 - Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 1 by Nathaniel Hawthorne09 - Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 2 by Nathaniel Hawthorne10 - Miss Albina McLush by Nathaniel Parker Willis11 - The Fall of the House of Usher Part 1 by Edgar Allan Poe12 - The Fall of the House of Usher Part 2 by Edgar Allan Poe13 - An Angel in Disguise by T S Arthur14 - Conversation on Conversation by Harriet Beecher Stowe15 - Aunt Hetty on Matrimony by Fanny Fern, the writing pseudonym for Sarah Payton Parton16 - Bartleby the Scrivener - Part 1 by Herman Melville17 - Bartleby the Scrivener - Part 2 by Herman Melville18 - The Peterkins Decide to Learn the Languages by Lucretia Peabody Hale19 - The Man Without a Country by Edward Everett Hale20 - Two Offers by Frances Watkins Harper21 - How I Killed a Bear by Charles Dudley Warner22 - The Shipwrecked Crew by Rebecca Harding Davies23 - The Brothers by Louisa May Alcott24 - The Lady, or the Tiger by Frank Stockton25 - Carnivorine by Lucy Hamilton Hooper26 - The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime In Connecticut by Mark Twain27 - The Luck of Roaring Camp by Bret Harte28 - Christmas Eve in War Times by Edward Payson Roe29 - An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce30 - The Great Good Place by Henry James31 - Rollo Learning to Read by Robert J Burdette32 - Since I Died by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps33 - The Little Room by Madeline Yale Wynne34 - A White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett35 - Desiree's Baby by Kate Chopin36 - The Tachypomp by Edward Page Mitchell37 - A New England Nun by Mary E Wilkins Freeman38 - The Screaming Skull by F Marion Crawford39 - When the Devil Was Well by Gertrude Atherton.wav40 - The Wife of His Youth by Charles W Chesnutt 41 - How the Widow Won the Deacon by William James Lampton42 - Talma Gordon by Pauline E Hopkins43 - The Perfect Ttribute by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews44 - The Yellow Wall Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman45 - A Responsibility by Henry Harland46 - Aunt Lindy. A Story Founded on Real Life by Victoria Earle Matthews47 - The Shape of Fear by Elia W Peattie48 - Souls Belated by Edith Wharton49 - The Idiot's Journalism Scheme by John Kendrick Bangs50 - The Last Leaf by O Henry51 - The Mysterious Card by Cleveland Moffet52 - The Repairer of Reputations Part 1 by Robert W Chambers53 - The Repairer of Reputations Part 2 by Robert W Chambers54 - The Readjustment by Mary Austin55 - The Strange Looking Man by Fanny Kemble Johnson56 - Ariel's Triumph by Booth Tarkington57 - The Preacher at Hill Station by Katherine Davis Chapman Tillman58 - The Great Slave by Zane Grey59 - The Open Boat by Stephen Crane60 - The Spirit of the Range by B M Bower61 - The Wooing of Pastor Cummings by Georgia F Stewart62 - The Scapegoat by Paul Laurence Dunbar63 - The Difference by Ellen Glasgow64 - Paul's Case by Willa Cather65 - Rooms by Gertrude Stein66 - White Bread by Zona Gale67 - The Stones of the Village by Alice Dunbar Nelson68 - The Avenger by Edgar Rice Burroughs69 - To Build a Fire by Jack London70 - A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell71 - Brothers by Sherwood Anderson72 - Devereux's Last Smoke by Izola Forrester73 - The Octoroon's Revenge by Ruth D Todd74 - Guests Unexpected. A Thanksgiving Story by Maude K Griffin75 - The Defense of Strikerville by Damon Runyon76 - Breaking the Color Line by Annie McCary77 - Speed by Sinclair Lewis78 - The Golden Honeymoon by Ring Lardner79 - The Hoodoo by Martha Gruening80 - The Tattooed Leg by John Chilton81 - The Rats in the Walls by H P Lovecraft82 - In No Strange Land by Katharine Butler83 - Here We Are by Dorothy Parker84 - The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell85 - Bernice Bobs Her Hair by F Scott Fitzgerald86 - The City of Refuge by Rudolph Fisher87 - A Cullenden of Virginia by Thomas Wolfe88 - The Grist in the Mill by Wallace Thurman89 - The Moaning Lily by Emma Vane90 - Skulls in the Stars by Robert E Howard91 - Why I Live At The PO - Eudora Welty
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