The Pocket Book of Short Stories: American, English and Continental Masterpieces

by Morris Edmund Speare (Editor)

A collection of 22 short stories by 22 masters of the short story: Ernest Hemingway; Stephen Vincent Benét; Dorothy Parker; Willa Cather; Sherwood Anderson; Katherine Mansfield; Thomas Mann; W. Somerset Maugham; Ring Lardner; Ivan Bunin; Saki (H.H. Munro); W.W. Jacobs; O. Henry; Anton P. Chekhov; Robert Louis Stevenson; Guy de Maupassant; Anatole France; Mark Twain; Bret Harte; Leo N. Tolstoi; Edgar Allan Poe; Honoré de Balzac

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Classics

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1941

Reviews

[Terken · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this anthology at the beginning of the year, but after the first two stories, I decided not to devour it, but treat it like a delectable snack. It was indeed a most satisfying read. There are twenty two stories in the book. I was surprised to see that they were arranged in reverse chronological order. Not all stories appealed to me, but that is normal, isn't it?

I'm not going to write about each author/story included in the book. However, I was curious about the editor and what I found on the internets was as good as the stories I read:
"Morris Edmund Speare was born Morris Soperstein, the eldest child of Mary Rosenberg (Chazan) and Jacob Soperstein. He arrived with them to Boston as a small child in 1886 or 1888; his two siblings were born in Boston. He modified this biography to give the impression that he was from a Christian family and that he was born in Boston.
One story is that Morris changed the last name from Soperstein to Spear to go to Harvard. "Born in Russia, Morris went to Harvard, where he became a snob. He decided Lowell Street (where his parents had lived since they came to the U.S.) was not a proper address for a Harvard man, and he found a large house at the end of the car line, on Maplewood Square, in Malden" (on Salem Street). The name change was made official in 1904. Morris graduated from Harvard cum laude in 1908. Sometime around the year (1915) he married Florence Jay Lewis, Morris added the e to Spear: Morris Edmund Speare, and often signed his writing as M. Edmund Speare."

Wait, there is more! "Morris was a believer in communication with the dead; see "Unknown but Known; My Adventure into the Meditative Dimension" (1969) by Arthur Ford, who cites Morris's summary of several sittings when Ford brought messages for Morris from his wife Florence after her death; Morris left money to a fellow believer to watch for signals or messages from him after his own death. He was writing a creative work based on his experiences in parapsychology when he died, one month before turning 90."

Mine has a different cover. It is the 4th edition dated April, 1961.

[Mark Hartzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book was originally compiled in 1941, my copy is the 67th printing from 1967. I decided to go back and take a fresh look at the 22 short stories included and see if I liked them as much now as way back then.

1.) The Killers-Ernest Hemingway. Set in Summit, Illinois during the 1920s. While just west of Midway Airport now, back then, Summit was pretty much run by Capone and was every bit as corrupt and dangerous as one would think. No plot. No character development. Only 10 pages, but quintessential Hemingway. Nick Adams is in it! Sample dialogue after the ‘killers’ leave the restaurant after failing to find the ‘Swede’: “What’s he going to do?” “Nothing.” “They’ll kill him.” “I guess they will.” “He must have got mixed up in something in Chicago.” “I guess so,” said Nick. “It’s a hell of a thing.” “It’s an awful thing,” Nick said. They did not say anything. George reached down for a towel and wiped the counter."

Docked a star for gratuitous use of the N word. 4 stars

2.) The Devil & Daniel Webster-Stephen Vincent Benet. Stupid, pretentious and dated.
I’m sure there may be a hidden message here, but I’m not interested. 1 star

3.) Big Blonde-Dorothy Parker. I loved this story. A sad tale about a wasted life, beautifully told. Hazel is an unforgettable character and I suspect Ms. Parker was well acquainted with people like her in Depression era New York. 5 stars

4.) Paul’s Case-Willa Cather. Perhaps my favorite story in the collection. Even if one did not have any background on Ms. Cather’s alleged sexual preferences, this would still be an engaging story because of numerous metaphors found throughout. Near the end, she writes: “The carnations in his coat were drooping with the cold, he noticed; all their red glory over. It occurred to him that all the flowers he had seen in the show windows must have gone the same way, long before this.” Was Paul gay? Hmmm. 5 stars.

5.) Seeds-Sherwood Anderson. This seemed overly mannered to me. I realize the characters exchange their positions, but it was tedious to follow. 3 stars

6.) Bliss-Katherine Mansfield. This is one to read carefully. Very subtle. 4 stars

7.) Disorder & Early Sorrow-Thomas Mann Germany in the inter war years; hyperinflation; shortages; the rise of modernism as told by the head of the house and university professor and as experienced by his immediate family. I’m skipping a huge amount of information, but very poignant. 4 stars

8.) Rain-Somerset Maugham. One of my favorite Maugham tales. I liked it much better than “The Razor’s Edge”. Straightforward prose and a delicious ending. 5 stars

9.) Haircut-Ring Lardner. Stream of consciousness dialogue from the barber. The last sentence: “Comb it wet or dry?” 4 stars

10.) The Gentleman from San Francisco-Ivan Bunin Great descriptive writing: “Squatting down, he set right his black trousers, drawn high by means of silk suspenders, adjusted his snow white shirt with its bulging front, put the button into the shining cuffs, and began the painful process of hunting up the front button under the hard collar. ...the button at times painfully pinched the flabby skin in the depression under his Adam’s apple, but he persevered...” Thank goodness for ‘business casual’ now. 4 stars

11.) Saki (HH Munro)-Tobermory You mean the servants actually can hear us when we are speaking!? How droll! A talking cat. Priceless. 5 stars

12.) W.W. Jacobs-The Monkey’s Paw A justifiably famous story. This is the kind of tale that Stephen King could write in his sleep, and I think it suffers from the dated writing. Would I rather read Big Steve’s version? Probably yeah. 4 stars

13.) O. Henry-A Municipal Report A great little morality tale told by a master. Certainly not as famous as ‘A Gift of the Magi’, but well worth the read. A very typical O. Henry plot twist at the end. 5 stars

14.) Anton Chekhov-The Darling Very different from the previous story. Very Russian. The main character, Olenka, drifts through life with no personal opinions, and seems to simply latch on to whomever she is with presently. I thought it was quite depressing. 4 stars

15.) Robert Louis Stevenson-A Lodging for the Night I just did not like this story very much. It jumps around and could not empathize or care about any of the characters. Not nearly as good as any of his other more famous works. 3 stars

16.) Guy de Maupassant-The Necklace A masterpiece and deserved part of Western literary canon. 5 stars

17.) Anatole France-The Procurator of Judea Another sort of famous story that really didn’t do much for me. I saw the ‘surprise’ ending coming and I think most other people would as well. 3 stars

18.) Mark Twain-The Celebrated Jumping Frog... Mr. Clemens’ famous tale set in California. I would have liked to have heard about the ‘one eyed, stubby tailed cow’ though. 5 stars

19.) Bret Harte-The Luck of Roaring Camp I know I should like this better, but I can’t overlook the random misogyny. 3 stars

20.) Leo Tolstoy-God Sees the Truth, But Waits Also very Russian with a strong fatalistic overtone throughout. Yes, that is what Tolstoy is getting across, but it seems so alien to modern American culture now. Forgiveness seems alien to our country. 4 stars

21.) Edgar Allen Poe-The Cask of Amontillado While this is not my favorite Poe at all, the concept of the short story would not be the same without him. An essential short story. FYI Amontillado is a type of sherry. Sorry, I hate sherry. 4 stars

22.) A Passion in the Desert-Honore de Balzac As much as I tried to enjoy the story, I could not get over the undercurrent of loathing for our natural world. 3 stars

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Searching for short stories for our little once a week read-aloud sessions for a group of 8-14 year olds.

Many of these stories are really bad. It makes me sad that people out there could really be so very miserable.

However, some of my favorites:

-The Devil & Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet--love the writing in this story
-Tobermory by Saki (too old for the kids, but absolutely hilarious!)
-The Necklace by Maupassant--heartbreaking but applicable
-The Luck of Roaring Camp by Harte
-=God Sees the Truth, but Waits by Tolstoy

[Charles Puskas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small, handy pocket-book collection of 22 good short stories by 22 great masters of the genre: probing the human psyche in "The Darling" of the brilliant Anton Chekhov, the hilarious tale by Saki (H.H. Munro); a scary short by the masterful Edgar Allan Poe; precarious relationship entanglements in Katherine Mansfield; the intense "The Killers" by Ernest Hemingway; a German family between two wars in Thomas Mann; a scandalous missionary tale by W. Somerset Maugham; an ode to man and beast in Honoré de Balzac; a funny homespun piece by Ring Lardner; intriguing travelogue story by Ivan Bunin; insightful historical tale by Robert Louis Stevenson; surprise ending tale by Guy de Maupassant; biblical tale by Anatole France; funny piece by Bret Harte; a valuable moral story by Leo N. Tolstoy; and other great shorts by Mark Twain, Stephen Vincent Benét; Dorothy Parker; W.W. Jacobs; O. Henry; Willa Cather; Sherwood Anderson. What a treat to dip into these whenever I have some free time!

[J. Alfred · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little concerned to note that this didn't have any Flannery O'Connor stories in it, but with a teeny bit of research found out that it was published just a few years after her death. This is a wonderful little book, full of great stories--fun, famous ones like "The Devil and Dan'l Webster" and "Tobermory," and deep, powerful ones like Sherwood Anderson's "Seeds." It utilizes the very cool strategy of presenting its stories in reverse chronilogical order, which makes for interesting reading.
(For people who might care: there is a possible source story for King's "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" in Tolstoy's "God Sees the Truth, but Waits.")

[Todd Honig · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1941 this is probably one of the best anthologies of short stories ever compiled. I don't care what any of the other reviewers of this book think, there isn't a bad story here and the only thing that's dated about any of them is that nobody writes short stories this good anymore. Everybody from Hemingway to Edgar Alan Poe and Dorothy Parker are represented here. All great writers who have stood the test of time. My copy of it is a 1967 reprint and probably this book is out of print now but if you can find a copy of it I highly recommend it to anybody who is a fan of really good writing.

[Nick Carraway LLC · Rating 3 out of 5]

1) "'Pressed or not, you shall not have this man!' he thundered. 'Mr. Stone is an American citizen, and no American citizen may be forced into the service of a foreign prince. We fought England for that in '12 and we'll fight all hell for it again!'
'Foreign?' said the stranger. 'And who calls me a foreigner?'
'Well, I never yet heard of the dev---of your claiming American citizenship,' said Dan'l Webster with surprise.
'And who with better right?' said the stranger with one of his terrible smiles. 'When the first wrong was done to the first Indian, I was there. When the first slaver put out for the Congo, I stood on her deck. Am I not in your books and stories and beliefs, from the first settlements on? Am I not spoken of still in every church in New England? 'Tis true the North claims me for a Southerner and the South for a Northerner, but I am neither. I am merely an honest American like yourself---and of the best descent---for, to tell the truth, Mr. Webster, though I don't like to boast of it, my name is older in this country than yours.'"
- Stephen Vincent Benét, "The Devil and Daniel Webster"

2) "She could not recall the definite day that she started drinking, herself. There was nothing separate about her days. Like drops upon a window-pane, they ran together and trickled away. She had been married six months; then a year; then three years."
- Dorothy Parker, "Big Blonde"

3) "And Dr. Macphail watched the rain. It was beginning to get on his nerves. It was not like our soft English rain that drops gently on the earth; it was unmerciful and somehow terrible; you felt in it the malignancy of the primitive powers of nature. It did not pour, it flowed. It was like a deluge from heaven, and it rattled on the roof of corrugated iron with a steady persistence that was maddening. It seemed to have a fury of its own. And sometimes you felt that you must scream if it did not stop, and then suddenly you felt powerless, as though your bones had suddenly become soft; and you were miserable and hopeless."
- W. Somerset Maugham, "Rain"

4) "Outside, the ocean tossed up black mountains with a thud; and the snow-storm hissed furiously in the rigging grown heavy with slush; the ship trembled in every limb, struggling with the storm and ploughing with difficulty the shifting and seething moutainous masses that threw far and high their foaming tails; the siren groaned in agony, choked by storm and fog; the watchmen in their towers froze and almost went out of their minds under the superhuman stress of attention. Like the gloomy and sultry mass of the inferno, like its last, ninth circle, was the submersed womb of the steamer, where monstrous furnaces yawned with red-hot open jaws, and emitted deep, hooting sounds, and where the stokers, stripped to the waist, and purple with reflected flames, bathed in their own dirty, acid sweat. And here, in the refreshment-bar, carefree men, with their feet, encased in dancing shoes, on the table, sipped cognac and liqueurs, swam in waves of spiced smoke, and exchanged subtle remarks, while in the dancing-hall everything sparkled and radiated light, warmth and joy."
- Ivan Bunin, "The Gentleman from San Francisco"

5) "About two hours later I saw an excited crowd besieging the front of the drug store. In a desert where nothing happens this was manna; so I wedged my way inside. On an extemporized couch of empty boxes and chairs was stretched the mortal corporeality of Major Wentworth Caswell. A doctor was testing him for the mortal ingredient. His decision was that it was conspicuous by its absence."
- O. Henry, "A Municipal Report"

6) "'Tell me one thing,' said the old man, pausing in his walk. 'Are you really a thief?'
'I claim the sacred rights of hospitality,' returned the poet. 'My lord, I am.'
'You are very young,' the knight continued.
'I should never have been so old,' replied Villon, showing his fingers, 'if I had not helped myself with these ten talents. They have been my nursing mothers and my nursing fathers.'
'You may still repent and change.'
'I repent daily,' said the poet. 'There are few people more given to repentance than poor Francis. As for change, let somebody change my circumstances. A man must continue to eat, if it were only that he may continue to repent.'"
- Robert Louis Stevenson, "A Lodging for the Night"

[Edwin Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

there are a lot of pessimistic, "ho hum" and just "hmmm??" stories in this collection. The best and most unique stories I read were Rain by Somerset Maugham and A Passion In The Desert by Honore de Balzac.

[Allyson Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding collection of classic short stories by Heminway, Dorothy Parker, E A Poe, O Henry, Guy de Maupassant, and many others. Many I had read, many were new to me (l'm not so strong on Chekhov and Tolstoy), all were worth a bedside hour.

[rafael · Rating 3 out of 5]

"In the desert, you see, there is everything, and nothing."
"Yes, but explain—"
"Well," he said, with an impatient gesture, "it is God without mankind."

[Valerie · Rating 1 out of 5]

For the most part, I found these stories surprisingly banal and without merit. Incomprehensible, in some cases. Disappointing in the extreme.

[Joey Brockert]

A surprising variety of stories. Some are historical, some are suspenseful, some are weird.

[Parish · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think it's finally time to accept that I am not going to finish this book. I've made it about a third of the way through, but it just doesn't hold me. The short stories in this book range from decent to dubious. Some of them aged like milk, particularly the first one, which makes for a rather unfortunate first impression. I picked this book up for free at a used book giveaway, but if anyone happens to come across it, I'd highly recommend skipping that first story. Otherwise, they're not terrible. But "not terrible" is not nearly good enough to get me to push through to the end.

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not designed as a "best of" collection of stories but rather as a sampling from Continental, English, and American writers. I probably most enjoyed Dorothy Parker's "Big Blonde." Although the stories span a time period of 100 years, the most recent are set in 1950s New York. This collection is a fine representation of the masters of the short story up to 1969 although it may not contain your particular favorites from these authors.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spears' collection of short stories represents a fair overview of several master works: Rain by Maugham, Bliss by Porter, Jumping Frog by Twain. I read and re-read some of these stories to give me ideas as to how authors select their materials, how to acquire cadence, forming a voice. Writers have to study the works of those who come before them. This is a good book to start if you haven't already. To me, the short story is superior to the novel as a prose form for modern readers.

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

There isn't a great deal to say about this book. It is a collection of American, British and Continental short stories and apparently is out of print. That seems likely, considering how brittle my copy is. I suppose it is nothing terribly special, but it is something of an appetizer platter for many notable writers, from Balzac to Hemingway.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read my grandmothers copy from 1941. I would carry it in my purse for whenever I was in a situation where I would have to wait and get bored. I loved it, a great collection from some excellent writers like Hemmingway, Edgar Allan Poe, Tolstoy, Anton Chekov, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, and many more.

[Jordan Orlando · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like any anthology, some stories are certainly better and more interesting than others. Most of them were very forgettable. Nevertheless, this anthology was published in the 50s, so it was interesting as a type of time machine to look back at the types of stories being told then and what people thought were important subjects and topics to write about.

[Merry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some stories are intriguing and some better left behind. A dictionary is a must if you want to enjoy the scenes (those you're not familiar with).

[Matt Murillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

good!

[Regine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It helps me finish my assigment

[Rob Jeffery · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book of short stories. Never underestimate the power of a short story.