Best-selling author Agatha Christie published her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920, and went on to become one of the most famous writers in history. She sold billions of copies of her work and was also a noted playwright and romance author.
When a successful painter gives up his passion to paint at the height of his popularity, an old friend of his decides to pay a visit and find out why. The Verdict by Edith Wharton was originally published in 1908.
A poor boy freezing to death on Christmas Eve finds himself before Christ’s Christmas tree, among the spirits of other children who have died and gone to heaven. The Heavenly Christmas Tree by Fyodor Dostoevsky was first published in A Writer’s Diary, January 1876
The Blind Man by Kate Chopin, written in 1894, is a powerful short story which captures the dangers of non-conformity.
The Ant and The Grasshopper by W. Somerset Maugham concerns two brothers, one of whom is a dissolute waster whose hard-working brother has constantly to bail out of difficulties. Originally published in 1924
A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka, published in 1922, was his last published work before he died. The tale is about a hunger artist in a circus who sits in a cage and fasts for weeks on end.
Eleonora by Edgar Allan Poe was first published in 1842 in the literary annual The Gift. The narrator introduces us to his life in two parts: the first, when he lived in the Valley of the Many-Colored Grass and later, when he lived in the city.
The Chinese Lily by Sui Sin Far is the story of Mermei, who after an accident is crippled with terrible scars on her face. The Chinese Lily appeared in the Mrs Spring Fragrance collection of short stories by Sui Sin Far.
A Very Short Story by Ernest Hemingway is one of his earliest works. It originally appeared as one of 18 vignettes that made up In Our Time, published in 1924.
Quizlit’s Book of the Month December 2023 is Western Lane by Chetna Maroo. Her debut novel has been shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize. Western Lane is a beautiful, evocative novel about grief, adolescence and family.
