Outstanding Short Stories: Edgar Allan Poe and Others

by G.C. Thornley

"Penguin Readers" is a series of simplified novels, film novelizations and original titles that introduce students at all levels to the pleasures of reading in English. Originally designed for teaching English as a foreign language, the series' combination of high interest level and low reading age makes it suitable for both English-speaking teenagers with limited reading skills and students of English as a second language. Many titles in the series also provide access to the pre-20th century literature strands of the National Curriculum English Orders. "Penguin Readers" are graded at seven levels of difficulty, from "Easystarts" with a 200-word vocabulary, to Level 6 (Advanced) with a 3000-word vocabulary. In addition, titles fall into one of three sub-categories: "Contemporary", "Classics" or "Originals". At the end of each book there is a section of enjoyable exercises focusing on vocabulary building, comprehension, discussion and writing. Some titles in the series are available with an accompanying audio cassette, or in a book and cassette pack. Additionally, selected titles have free accompanying "Penguin Readers Factsheets" which provide stimulating exercise material for students, as well as suggestions for teachers on how to exploit the Readers in class.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Classics

103 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

Reviews

[Camila (previously the opinionated Catruler) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Man Who Could Work Miracles
by H. G. Wells (4*)

The Model Millionaire
Oscar Wilde (4.5*)

Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend
by P. G. Wodehouse (3.5*)

The Doll’s House
by Katherine Mansfield (3*)

X-ing a Paragraph
Edgar Alan Poe (5*)

The Courtship of Susan Bell
by Anthony Trollope (3.5*)

Lord Mountdrago
by W. Somerset Maugham (2.5*)

[Mayad Tarabey · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, we have seven different short stories by seven different writers. So I knew that the writing style was gonna change within a few pages. However, it didn’t bother me that much. Since this book has seven stories, I’m gonna talk about each one.

1. The Man Who Could Work Miracles by H. G. Wells
(4/5 stars)

I love a good dream sequence. The beginning of the story was so confusing at first because they literally get into the point, but once it was revealed to be a dream I understood why it started like that. The title literally explains what the story is about so yeah.

2. The Model Millionaire by Oscar Wilde (4/5)

One of the two shortest stories in this book. In a story that is almost eight pages long, I didn’t expect that much. But I was pleased with how it turned out. I loved the plot twist and the moral of the story.

3. Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend by P. G. Wodehouse (2/5)

It wasn’t as strong as the first two stories. I didn’t like the storyline and the characters as well.

4. The Doll’s House by Katherine Mansfield (4/5)

This was one of my favorite stories in here. I loved it from the beginning til that last line of the ending. It showcased how certain people feel about other people based off their wealth. Loved it.

5. X-ing a Paragraph by Edgar Allan Poe (2/5)

I loved Poe’s poetry but this story was questionable. It’s the second shortest story here, with a length of almost eight pages, but I felt like it should’ve had more than that. I figured there is a hidden meaning behind the story but I just didn’t understand it. Is it something about artists? Cause I kind of felt in the story when Poe wrote how people assumed the article was written about something, it made the writer mad so he wrote another one that didn’t necessary made sense (at least for other it didn’t make sense)
I don’t know I was so confused.

6. The Courtship of Susan Bell by Anthony Trollope (2/5)

The only thing I loved about this was how it ended. I loved that it was a peaceful and pleasant ending. But while I was reading, I found myself impatiently waiting for it to end.

7. Lord Mountdrago by W. Somerset Maugham (5/5)

This is number one. This is my top favorite. I thought The Doll’s House was good, but this is even better. I loved the storyline, the anticipation and the characters as well. The way it ended, is just the art of writing itself. Definitely going to re-read this later on!

[Nastya Podhorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Прев'ю: Я якось помітила, що геть по-іншому сприймаю текст іноземною мовою. Просто намагаюся "витягнути" з нього зміст, і чим легше це вдається, тим текст кращий (тобто, в фаворі прості речення, з одноманітною структурою, прості слова, і бажано, щоб вони повторювалися з речення в речення, і Боже збав від всіляких синонімів і т.д.). Українською мовою я б такий текст вважала непролазно нудним, і навряд чи б читала (хіба дууууже треба). Тож, аби якось нормалізувати цю розбіжність я вирішила почати читати художню літературу англійською мовою.
І, як для початку, ця збірка - саме те, що треба. Одразу різні автори - різні стилі письма. (Дійсно, до середини книги виявилось, що речення сприймаються повністю, як смислові одиниці, а не перекладаються по слову - теорія теорією, а на практиці це відчути було прикольно)))
Щодо змісту - нормальна збірка оповідань - якісь цікавіші (особливо оповідання Оскара Вайлда і Сомерсета Моема), якісь нудніші. Але в середньому досить непогано!

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was quite a fun little book. My favourites were (in order of likability)
1. The Courtship of Susan Bell
2. Lord Mountdrago
3. Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend
4. The Man who could Work Miracles
5. The Model Millionare
6. The Doll's House
7. X-ing a Paragraph.

This was the first time I read a piece of work from W . Maughem, P.G. Wodehouse, and Anthony Trollope and I must say that they are going to the top of my Favourites List because I LOVED the way they wrote, the descriptions, the characters, everything about it just clicked with me.

Loved this.

X-ing was a bit humorous but it didn't quite do it for me because I find puns to be a bit crass, you might find them well, but it's just not MY cup of tea.

[João Cirilo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Achei curiosas algumas resenhas desse livreto aqui - não sei bem o motivo (tenho minhas suspeitas), mas as pessoas, pelo menos aqui, tendem a elogiar justamente os contos que não são os melhores. Elogiam o do Oscar Wilde (bem ruim), desmerecem, e muito, o do Wodehouse (perfeito) e o do Trollope (muito bom). Talvez isso prove que as sutilezas das línguas são parâmetros do gosto estético - vi falarem que "não entenderem os personagens" do conto do Wodehouse - ora, não entenderem justamente porque é um conto pura e simplesmente de humor, não tem nenhuma "mensagem" social; logo, é um conto sutil e, repito, perfeito.

The Man Who Could Work Miracles
H. G. Wells (4/5)

The Model Millionaire
Oscar Wilde (1/5)

Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend
P. G. Wodehouse (5/5)

The Doll’s House
Katherine Mansfield (3/5)

X-ing a Paragraph
Edgar Alan Poe (2/5)

The Courtship of Susan Bell
Anthony Trollope (4/5)

Lord Mountdrago
W. Somerset Maugham (5/5)

[Lina M Abd ElSalam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The man who could work miracles 2/5
The model millionaire 4.5/5
X-ing a paragraph 2/5

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great set of stories, but as a class text for ESL learners, I'd be worried the language is too tough. Perhaps the ideal book for a really exemplary group of learners who want to go beyond.

[MissSerpentard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lecture sympatoche, bientôt une critique sur mon blog ! #PetitMoisPetitesLectures2023

[Leonardo Ciompi Orsini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting!

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only enjoyed two of the stories 🫣
The Courtship of Susan Bell
The Model Millionaire

[Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of various, for the most part quite interesting and engaging short stories by various authors. My favourite was definitely the one by Wodehouse (Maugham in second place).

[Gaoguanyu332]

This book tells some intesting stories which happened in the first half of last century. Something imaginative or amazing happened in these stories. For instance, in the first story, a man can control everything with his mind. He was surpriseed by himself at the beginning and showed his super power to others. However, abuse made everything worse and worse. So the last thing he did with his super power was letting it disappear. These stories ended in a silent voice, which seemed not to happen before.

As I read this book, I find that the authors of this book were all living in the period which industy made the whole society develop in a unprecedented speed. The wealth increased very fast in that period, and these stories showed how people pursued money. I think only by hard work, we can get want we want.

[Margaret Unger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am curious what criteria were used to determine that these stories are "outstanding". Perhaps because they were written before the short story became a well-established writing form and there were few to choose from? Perhaps because they came from famous names, and therefore, by default, are considered outstanding? Because I certainly found them considerably less so. A couple were somewhat less than enjoyable, and most were downright tedious. Furthermore, only a sadist would have chosen these stories as material for teaching children who have reading difficulties or those learning English. There are SO MANY excellent stories available, why on earth choose these? Archaic language, archaic ideas that are unfamiliar to many people, uninteresting subject matter. I wouldn't inflict these stories on even children I hate.

[Namiko · Rating 4 out of 5]

It includes:

-The Man Who Could Work Miracles Herbert George Wells
-The Model Millionaire Oscar Wilde
-Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend P.G.Wodehouse
-The Doll's House Katherine Mansfield
-X-ing a Paragraph Edgar Allan Poe
-The Courtship of Susan Bell Anthony Trollpe
-Lord Mountdrago W.Somerset Maugham

I've read "Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend" and "The Doll's House" somewhere. I liked "Lord Mountdrago" and I don't understand Edgar Allan Poe's.

[Misteriosa · Rating 2 out of 5]

1- The man who could work miracles - H. G. Wells (2/5)
2- The model millionaire - Oscar Wilde (4/5)
3- Lord Emsworth and the girl friend - P. G. Wodehouse (3/5)
4- The doll's house - Katherine Mansfield (2,5/5)
5- X-ing a paragraph - Edgar Allan Poe (2/5)
6- The courtship of Susan Bell - Anthony Trollope (3,5/5)
7- Lord Mountdrago - W. Somerset Maugham (1/5)

[Fatma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of short stories (written by well-known authors). May interests both short stories lovers and English language learners. Also this book could be a cool add to your own library or any public one, such as schools libraries.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so great. I really like this book. It is classic. It is short but its expression is really broad.

[Ludvig · Rating 5 out of 5]

spooky

[Tolga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I offer this book ones who would like to improve his/her english.

[Hasini | bibliosini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this! The stories selected were really interesting and I never really lost interest!

[Luisa]

This is certainly an enjoyable compilation. I especially liked the last story, "Lord Mountdrago" by W. Somerset Maugham.