Free short stories by the all time great short story writers
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving also known informally as “The Headless Horseman” – The short story by the American author Irving was originally published in 1820. The plot is based on a German folk story transplanted to a New York setting.
From The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes, The Adventure of the Illustrious Client by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was written in 1924 and Published in Collier’s Magazine. It later was part of the 12 stories collected for The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes which appeared in 1927.
Set against the exotic, vivid backdrop of the British colony at Singapore, The Letter by W. Somerset Maugham depicts the dishonorable effects of jealous passion and deceit while suggesting a subtle tension between the British colonists and their Eastern subjects.
Originally published in Japan in 1908 Our Cat’s Grave by Natsume Soseki is a brief but heartfelt remembrance for a feline companion.
George Saunders’ 2012 short story The Semplica Girl Diaries is not only an example of one author’s experimental foray into a diary format, but it also stands as a biting social commentary on wealth, societal responsibility, human rights, and ethics.
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language; though he did not speak English fluently until his twenties.
Spunk is a short story by Zora Neale Hurston published in 1925. The story’s publication helped establish Hurston as a significant literary voice during the Harlem Renaissance.
“The Dead Man” is a short story by Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges. It was first published in the magazine Sur in November 1946 and appears in the 1949 short story collection The Aleph.
A Society by Virginia Woolf offers a brief but penetrating glimpse into Woolf’s literary genius. Written in 1920
Hills Like White Elephants is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It was first published in 1927, then later in the short story collection Men Without Women.
