What would you put into an anthology of the best short stories ever?

ficbot · 03-11-2013, 09:36 PM

I am experimenting with Sigil and thought it would be fun to put together an anthology of the best/most famous/influential public domain short stories. I was thinking it could be like a textbook of the short story with all the great ones in one place. I would of course share it here

Now, what to include? Here is what I have so far:

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
A Terribly Strange Bed by Wilkie Collins
The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A Jury of her Peers by Susan Glaspell
The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling
The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
The Lady, or the Tiger? by Frank Richards Stockton
Three Questions by Leo Tolstoy
The $30,000 Bequest by Mark Twain

SteveEisenberg · 03-11-2013, 10:21 PM

I will have to check out some I haven't read.

Joseph Epstein's "Coming in With Their Hands Up" probably is in the love-it-or-hate-it category, but I'm not the only one who loved it.

Under copyright, but free from many US public libraries:

http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/sh...their-hands-up

meeera · 03-11-2013, 10:26 PM

Saki's The Open Window.

Ripplinger · 03-12-2013, 12:24 AM

Pigeons from Hell by Robert E. Howard.

Fat Abe · 03-12-2013, 01:42 AM

Without doubt,

The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka

The Black Cat, Edgar Allan Poe

The Visitor, Roald Dahl

Dahl's works are not in the public domain yet. It is a difficult task picking the best short story from any writer, especially Poe. The level of excellence is high, as it is with Isaac Bashevis Singer and others. Ultimately, the compiler of an anthology has to use his or her instincts to pick the most "deserving" among many children. Sadly, there is no single best work from any writer.

taming · 03-12-2013, 04:48 AM

There is a nice collection of individual short stories here: http://www.classicshorts.com/bib.html. I read (and was very affected by) Irwin Shaw's "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" in high school and was pleased to find it there.

elemenoP · 03-12-2013, 10:35 AM

The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell. It was published in 1924, I am not certain if that makes it public domain or not?

elemenoP · 03-12-2013, 10:37 AM

Also, In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka. Are you going to allow more than one SS per author?

eP

issybird · 03-12-2013, 12:24 PM

The Bet by Chekov
The Necklace by de Maupassant

poohbear_nc · 03-12-2013, 12:33 PM

Esme by Saki

barutanseijin · 03-13-2013, 01:21 AM

Hemingway: Big two hearted river
Fitzgerald: Babylon revisited
Kafka: In the penal colony
Faulkner: Red leaves
Borges: Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote; Three versions of Judas; The Library of Babel; the Zahir...
I'd also include a few folk tales from folklorists like the Grimm Bros. & Yanagita Kunio

I'm also partial to

Sakaguchi Ango's "In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom" & Salinger's "Franny"

AndrewH · 03-13-2013, 01:35 AM

The Willows by Algernon Blackwood.

HarryT · 03-13-2013, 05:03 AM

"The Signalman" by Charles Dickens. A truly classic ghost story.

Gazella · 03-13-2013, 05:52 AM

An Honest Thief
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man
A Christmas Tree and a Wedding

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

pstjmack · 03-13-2013, 08:02 AM

Can't help but notice how many of these are ghost/horror/SF/fantastic literature. Does this mean that imaginative and speculative literature has had a greater influence on the development of the short story than other genres?

03-11-2013, 09:36 PM	#1
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	What would you put into an anthology of the best short stories ever? I am experimenting with Sigil and thought it would be fun to put together an anthology of the best/most famous/influential public domain short stories. I was thinking it could be like a textbook of the short story with all the great ones in one place. I would of course share it here Now, what to include? Here is what I have so far: An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce A Terribly Strange Bed by Wilkie Collins The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman A Jury of her Peers by Susan Glaspell The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe The Lady, or the Tiger? by Frank Richards Stockton Three Questions by Leo Tolstoy The $30,000 Bequest by Mark Twain

03-12-2013, 01:42 AM	#5
Fat Abe Man Who Stares at Books Posts: 1,826 Karma: 10606722 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: 50th State, USA. Also, PA, NY, CA, and elsewhere. Device: All of the Above	Without doubt, The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka The Black Cat, Edgar Allan Poe The Visitor, Roald Dahl Dahl's works are not in the public domain yet. It is a difficult task picking the best short story from any writer, especially Poe. The level of excellence is high, as it is with Isaac Bashevis Singer and others. Ultimately, the compiler of an anthology has to use his or her instincts to pick the most "deserving" among many children. Sadly, there is no single best work from any writer. Last edited by Fat Abe; 03-12-2013 at 01:46 AM.

03-13-2013, 05:52 AM	#14
Gazella Wizard Posts: 1,705 Karma: 4619474 Join Date: Nov 2012 Device: Kindle Scribe, Kindle Paperwhite	What would you put into an anthology of the best short stories ever? An Honest Thief The Dream of a Ridiculous Man A Christmas Tree and a Wedding by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

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03-11-2013, 10:21 PM	#2
SteveEisenberg Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,470 Karma: 44460032 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: near Philadelphia USA Device: Kindle Kids Edition, Fire HD 10 (11th generation)	I will have to check out some I haven't read. Joseph Epstein's "Coming in With Their Hands Up" probably is in the love-it-or-hate-it category, but I'm not the only one who loved it. Under copyright, but free from many US public libraries: http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/sh...their-hands-up

03-11-2013, 10:26 PM	#3
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,862 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	Saki's The Open Window.

03-12-2013, 12:24 AM	#4
Ripplinger 350 Hoarder Posts: 3,587 Karma: 8281267 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Midwest USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2	Pigeons from Hell by Robert E. Howard.

03-12-2013, 04:48 AM	#6
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	There is a nice collection of individual short stories here: http://www.classicshorts.com/bib.html. I read (and was very affected by) Irwin Shaw's "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" in high school and was pleased to find it there.

03-12-2013, 10:35 AM	#7
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell. It was published in 1924, I am not certain if that makes it public domain or not?

03-12-2013, 10:37 AM	#8
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	Also, In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka. Are you going to allow more than one SS per author? eP

03-12-2013, 12:24 PM	#9
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 21,517 Karma: 236076651 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: Mini, H2O, Glo HD, Aura One, PW4, PW5	The Bet by Chekov The Necklace by de Maupassant

03-12-2013, 12:33 PM	#10
poohbear_nc Bah! Humbug! Posts: 64,228 Karma: 135242149 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	Esme by Saki

03-13-2013, 01:21 AM	#11
barutanseijin Nxfgrrjks Posts: 99 Karma: 925422 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: New York, NY Device: aura hd	Hemingway: Big two hearted river Fitzgerald: Babylon revisited Kafka: In the penal colony Faulkner: Red leaves Borges: Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote; Three versions of Judas; The Library of Babel; the Zahir... I'd also include a few folk tales from folklorists like the Grimm Bros. & Yanagita Kunio I'm also partial to Sakaguchi Ango's "In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom" & Salinger's "Franny"

03-13-2013, 01:35 AM	#12
AndrewH Fanatic Posts: 553 Karma: 1234566 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver, WA Device: Sony PRS-T1, & Kobo Mini	The Willows by Algernon Blackwood.

03-13-2013, 05:03 AM	#13
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,560 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	"The Signalman" by Charles Dickens. A truly classic ghost story.

03-13-2013, 08:02 AM	#15
pstjmack Connoisseur Posts: 74 Karma: 87474 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Budapest, Hungary Device: Android tablet	Can't help but notice how many of these are ghost/horror/SF/fantastic literature. Does this mean that imaginative and speculative literature has had a greater influence on the development of the short story than other genres?