14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
How can a brief tale hold a whole world—and leave you with one lasting feeling?
A Collection of Short-Stories, gathered by Lemuel Arthur Pittenger, brings together brief tales with room for humour, reflection, and ordinary lives. Its sections on storytelling’s history and the qualities of short fiction also invite you behind the scenes: what separates a complete story from an anecdote, and what makes a small moment matter?
The discussion follows Boccaccio’s Decameron, Chaucer’s lively characters, and Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle as it traces changing approaches to storytelling. Poe and Maupassant become central to its account of concentrated effect. These pages ask you to notice how character, incident, and emotion work together—and how much a writer can suggest without spelling everything out.
What you’ll discover
- Small worlds worth entering Meet brief tales that offer a change of scene without demanding a long commitment.
- A clearer reading eye Explore why the discussion distinguishes an entertaining anecdote from a story with emotional force.
- Humour with a human centre Make room for laughter alongside reflection and an interest in the lives of ordinary people.
- Storytelling across changing forms Follow the discussion from medieval fables to essays, sketches, and Irving’s leisurely approach to narrative.
- The power of concentration Discover why Poe and Maupassant matter to this account of short fiction’s distinctive shape.
Who will love it
Readers who like a whole shelf of stories in one book, from fairy tale to ghost story to treasure hunt, and who enjoy comparing how seven writers shape a single dramatic moment.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A father measures love through status
- Quiet courage receives little thanks
- Defending a name becomes a trap
- Fear spreads through the house
- Strange clues invite careful reasoning
- Perfection can turn love against itself
- A refuge becomes a forced choice
- A killer faces his own conscience
- Small objects carry larger questions
Who’s who
- Thord ÖveraasThe richest man in his parish, who visits the priest on his son's behalf again and again and wants the best for him.
- The Minor CanonA kind young priest who walks toward a griffin out of duty and cares for the town's poor and unruly children.
- Master HauchecorneA thrifty Norman peasant who picks up a piece of string and then cannot make anyone believe why.
- William LegrandA once wealthy man living in a hut on Sullivan's Island, who becomes certain that a golden beetle will bring him a fortune.
- AylmerA scientist who marries a beautiful woman and cannot stop looking at the one small mark on her cheek.
- Ethan BrandA former lime burner who comes home after eighteen years of searching the world for the Unpardonable Sin.
- Denis de BeaulieuA proud young soldier who loses his way in the dark and is locked inside a stranger's house.
- MarkheimA man who enters a dealer's shop on Christmas Day with a dagger and a story about a gift.
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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A Collection of Short-Stories in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
A Collection of Short-Stories
by Lemuel Arthur Pittenger (editor)
A stray piece of string, a golden beetle and a door that locks itself: ten tales of strange turns.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
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In short
What would you do if a door shut behind you and would not open? Or if a scrap of string cost you your good name?
A Collection of Short-Stories at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 50 min3 h 50 min fast, 5 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 69,400 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A farmer visits the priest three times
The Father by Björnstjerne Björnson is told in a few plain scenes. Thord Överaas, the richest man in his parish, walks into the priest's study to ask for his newborn son to be baptized, alone, on a weekday, at noon. The child will be named Finn, after Thord's own father.
Sixteen years pass, and Thord is back the night before the boy's confirmation. He wants to know what place his son will take in church. The priest tells him the boy will stand first, and Thord pays ten dollars. Eight years later he returns to ask that the banns be read for his son, who will marry the richest girl in the parish. Thord lays down three dollars when only one is due. The priest points out that this is the third time he has come on his son's account.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
A Collection of Short-Stories. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-collection-of-short-stories.
A collection of short-stories. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-collection-of-short-stories
A Collection of Short-Stories. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-collection-of-short-stories.
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title = {A Collection of Short-Stories},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-collection-of-short-stories}
}
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What is A Collection of Short-Stories about?
It gathers ten tales by seven writers, including The Father, The Piece of String, The Gold-Bug, The Birthmark and Markheim. Each story follows a person caught in a moment of pride, fear, honor or conscience.
Which authors and stories are in the collection?
Björnson wrote The Father, Stockton The Griffin and the Minor Canon, Maupassant The Piece of String and Kipling The Man Who Was. Poe has two tales, as do Hawthorne and Stevenson.
Is it easy to read?
The stories are short, and each one is a complete tale with a clear beginning, so you can read one at a time. The mix of fairy tale, adventure and ghost story keeps the pace lively.
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