A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka
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.
Short Stories
Free short stories by the all time great short story writers
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Eleonora by Edgar Allan Poe
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
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
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.
The Mysterious Mansion by Honoré De Balzac
The Mysterious Mansion by Honoré De Balzac, set in “an old house,” a man exacts revenge on his wife and her lover. This chilling tale is one of Balzac’s most popular.Â
The Sisters By James Joyce
The Sisters by James Joyce is the opening story in the Dubliners (1914) . It is told in the first person, a young man recalling his friendship with a priest.
Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield
Miss Brill is a short story by Katherine Mansfield. It was first published in Athenaeum on 26 November 1920, and later reprinted in The Garden Party and Other Stories.
The Schoolmaster by Anton Chekhov
The Schoolmaster (1886) is Anton Chekhov’s take on the value of a good teacher and the powerlessness of ageing.
2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut
2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut (pronounced “to be or not to be”), is an intentional reference to the famous line in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The short story was originally published in the Worlds of IF Science Fiction magazine and is referenced by author Kurt Vonnegut in his later novel, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.
A Haunted House by Virginia Woolf
A Haunted House by Virginia Woolf depicts an unnamed character who perceives (or perhaps dreams) that a loving but long-deceased couple haunts the country house they inhabit.