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World's Most Popular Short Stories
World’s Most Popular Short Stories is a collection of
tales that are soothing, yet scintillating, motivational
and magical, and a gentle mix of the common and
the special.
Handpicked stories by four master craftsmen – Guy
de Maupassant, Anton Chekhov, O Henry and Saki
– will not only give you a taste of their contemporary
societies and cultures, but also take you on an
adventure of a lifetime. Their extraordinary stories
are a mixture of tragedy and humorous satire,
irony and the macabre, in which the stupidities and
hypocrisy of conventional society are viciously pilloried.
You will meet the common folks who love to spend evenings in the company
of girls, and you will also meet couples from humble origins working hard to
repay a debt which was wrongly assumed in the first place. You can run into
love seeking you in some stories, and destiny waiting to change the course
of lives in others. The heady mix of humour, satire and drama makes these
stories an essential cocktail of emotions.
tales that are soothing, yet scintillating, motivational
and magical, and a gentle mix of the common and
the special.
Handpicked stories by four master craftsmen – Guy
de Maupassant, Anton Chekhov, O Henry and Saki
– will not only give you a taste of their contemporary
societies and cultures, but also take you on an
adventure of a lifetime. Their extraordinary stories
are a mixture of tragedy and humorous satire,
irony and the macabre, in which the stupidities and
hypocrisy of conventional society are viciously pilloried.
You will meet the common folks who love to spend evenings in the company
of girls, and you will also meet couples from humble origins working hard to
repay a debt which was wrongly assumed in the first place. You can run into
love seeking you in some stories, and destiny waiting to change the course
of lives in others. The heady mix of humour, satire and drama makes these
stories an essential cocktail of emotions.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 10, 2020
679 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Anton Chekhov
5,967 books9,787 followers
Antón Chéjov
(Spanish)
Dramas, such as The Seagull (1896, revised 1898), and including "A Dreary Story" (1889) of Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, also Chekov, concern the inability of humans to communicate.
Born ( Антон Павлович Чехов ) in the small southern seaport of Taganrog, the son of a grocer. His grandfather, a serf, bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught to read. A cloth merchant fathered Yevgenia Morozova, his mother.
"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." Tyranny of his father, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, open from five in the morning till midnight, shadowed his early years. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog from 1867 to 1868 and then Taganrog grammar school. Bankruptcy of his father compelled the family to move to Moscow. At the age of 16 years in 1876, independent Chekhov for some time alone in his native town supported through private tutoring.
In 1879, Chekhov left grammar school and entered the university medical school at Moscow. In the school, he began to publish hundreds of short comics to support his mother, sisters and brothers. Nicholas Leikin published him at this period and owned Oskolki (splinters), the journal of Saint Petersburg. His subjected silly social situations, marital problems, and farcical encounters among husbands, wives, mistresses, and lust; even after his marriage, Chekhov, the shy author, knew not much of whims of young women.
Nenunzhaya pobeda , first novel of Chekhov, set in 1882 in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Mór Jókai. People also mocked ideological optimism of Jókai as a politician.
Chekhov graduated in 1884 and practiced medicine. He worked from 1885 in Peterburskaia gazeta.
In 1886, Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him, a regular contributor, to work for Novoe vremya, the daily paper of Saint Petersburg. He gained a wide fame before 1886. He authored The Shooting Party , his second full-length novel, later translated into English. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in later her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . First book of Chekhov in 1886 succeeded, and he gradually committed full time. The refusal of the author to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intelligentsia, who criticized him for dealing with serious social and moral questions but avoiding giving answers. Such leaders as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov, however, defended him. "I'm not a liberal, or a conservative, or a gradualist, or a monk, or an indifferentist. I should like to be a free artist and that's all..." Chekhov said in 1888.
The failure of The Wood Demon , play in 1889, and problems with novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890, he traveled across Siberia to Sakhalin, remote prison island. He conducted a detailed census of ten thousand convicts and settlers, condemned to live on that harsh island. Chekhov expected to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. Hard conditions on the island probably also weakened his own physical condition. From this journey came his famous travel book.
Chekhov practiced medicine until 1892. During these years, Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgmental author. He outlined his program in a letter to his brother Aleksandr: "1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality; flee the stereotype; 6. compassion." Because he objected that the paper conducted against [a:Alfred Dreyfu
Dramas, such as The Seagull (1896, revised 1898), and including "A Dreary Story" (1889) of Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, also Chekov, concern the inability of humans to communicate.
Born ( Антон Павлович Чехов ) in the small southern seaport of Taganrog, the son of a grocer. His grandfather, a serf, bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught to read. A cloth merchant fathered Yevgenia Morozova, his mother.
"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." Tyranny of his father, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, open from five in the morning till midnight, shadowed his early years. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog from 1867 to 1868 and then Taganrog grammar school. Bankruptcy of his father compelled the family to move to Moscow. At the age of 16 years in 1876, independent Chekhov for some time alone in his native town supported through private tutoring.
In 1879, Chekhov left grammar school and entered the university medical school at Moscow. In the school, he began to publish hundreds of short comics to support his mother, sisters and brothers. Nicholas Leikin published him at this period and owned Oskolki (splinters), the journal of Saint Petersburg. His subjected silly social situations, marital problems, and farcical encounters among husbands, wives, mistresses, and lust; even after his marriage, Chekhov, the shy author, knew not much of whims of young women.
Nenunzhaya pobeda , first novel of Chekhov, set in 1882 in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Mór Jókai. People also mocked ideological optimism of Jókai as a politician.
Chekhov graduated in 1884 and practiced medicine. He worked from 1885 in Peterburskaia gazeta.
In 1886, Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him, a regular contributor, to work for Novoe vremya, the daily paper of Saint Petersburg. He gained a wide fame before 1886. He authored The Shooting Party , his second full-length novel, later translated into English. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in later her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . First book of Chekhov in 1886 succeeded, and he gradually committed full time. The refusal of the author to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intelligentsia, who criticized him for dealing with serious social and moral questions but avoiding giving answers. Such leaders as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov, however, defended him. "I'm not a liberal, or a conservative, or a gradualist, or a monk, or an indifferentist. I should like to be a free artist and that's all..." Chekhov said in 1888.
The failure of The Wood Demon , play in 1889, and problems with novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890, he traveled across Siberia to Sakhalin, remote prison island. He conducted a detailed census of ten thousand convicts and settlers, condemned to live on that harsh island. Chekhov expected to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. Hard conditions on the island probably also weakened his own physical condition. From this journey came his famous travel book.
Chekhov practiced medicine until 1892. During these years, Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgmental author. He outlined his program in a letter to his brother Aleksandr: "1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality; flee the stereotype; 6. compassion." Because he objected that the paper conducted against [a:Alfred Dreyfu
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 18, 2022
One of the best collections of short stories. The diamond necklace and The debt from MAUPASSANT; The beggar from Anton Chekov; The last leaf and the pendulum from O . Henry; Adrian A chapter in Acclimatization, The saint and the goblin, A bread and Butter miss from saki were my favorite ones.
The stories were a mix of optimism, philosophy, satire, wittiness, humor, and pessimism.
Also, after reading the stories, I realized some of the Bollywood movies had taken inspiration from them, like Lootera from the last leaf and Fukrey from A bread and Butter miss.
Overall an excellent read!
The stories were a mix of optimism, philosophy, satire, wittiness, humor, and pessimism.
Also, after reading the stories, I realized some of the Bollywood movies had taken inspiration from them, like Lootera from the last leaf and Fukrey from A bread and Butter miss.
Overall an excellent read!
October 6, 2022
A collection of short stories (...and an essay), all of which, are available in the public domain but collated here under the false name of the World's most popular...
However, while this is a collection of the stories written by the World's most popular authors, it felt that an attempt had been made to have a collection of their not-so-popular stories.
Barring "The Diamond Necklace" - by Maupassant, "The Last Leaf" - by O. Henry, and "The Open Window" - by Saki, this is a collection of these authors' good, but not their best works.
Read them for freshness, but not for greatness or popularity.
However, while this is a collection of the stories written by the World's most popular authors, it felt that an attempt had been made to have a collection of their not-so-popular stories.
Barring "The Diamond Necklace" - by Maupassant, "The Last Leaf" - by O. Henry, and "The Open Window" - by Saki, this is a collection of these authors' good, but not their best works.
Read them for freshness, but not for greatness or popularity.
March 14, 2024
Very good stories
I really like the stories written by O.Henry, the rest of them are also good. They really reflect the place, time and it's culture they live in.
I really like the stories written by O.Henry, the rest of them are also good. They really reflect the place, time and it's culture they live in.
December 29, 2024
This anthology presents a rich tapestry of experiences—encounters with ordinary people savoring simple pleasures, couples navigating challenges to repay debts, tales of love arriving unexpectedly, and destiny altering the course of lives. The seamless blend of humour, satire, and drama ensures an engaging and emotionally resonant read.
While the language and context of these classics might require some effort from modern readers, the depth and beauty of the narratives make them an enriching experience. Though it may not include the absolute best works of these authors, this collection serves as an excellent introduction to their legacy and the cultural nuances of their eras. For those passionate about exploring diverse cultures through the lens of classic literature, this book is a rewarding addition to any bookshelf.
READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE:
https://www.bibliophiletalks.in/book-...
While the language and context of these classics might require some effort from modern readers, the depth and beauty of the narratives make them an enriching experience. Though it may not include the absolute best works of these authors, this collection serves as an excellent introduction to their legacy and the cultural nuances of their eras. For those passionate about exploring diverse cultures through the lens of classic literature, this book is a rewarding addition to any bookshelf.
READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE:
https://www.bibliophiletalks.in/book-...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews