Fireside Reader: A Treasury of Outstanding Short Stories

by Reader's Digest Association (Editor), Joseph Papin (Illustrator)

Included:
The bottle imp by Robert Louis Stevenson
An end to dreams by Stephen Vincent Benet
Parson's pleasure by Roald Dahl
The bride comes to Yellow Sky by Stephen Crane
The monkey's paw by W. W. Jacobs
The Foster portfolio by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
The poor relations story by Charles Dickens
The real thing by Henry James
The hostage by C. S. Forster
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
The girls in their summer dresses by Irving Shaw
The street that got mislaid by Patrick Waddington
A piece of steak by Jack London
The secret ingredient by Paul Gallico
The hawk by Liam O'Flaherty
The apprentice by Dorothy Canfeld Fisher
A sick call by Morley Callaghan
A terribly strange bed by Wilkie Collins
The loss by Gillian Tindall
The mouse by Saki (H. H. Munro)
Tickets, please by D. H. Lawrence
The country of the blind by H. G. Wells
The gifts of war by Margaret Drabble
The skedule by H. H. Wilson
"Well I'm - !" by G. E. M. Skues
The weather breeder by Merrill Dennison
In and out the houses by Elizabeth Taylor
A rose for Emily by William Faulkner
The test by Brendan Gill
The hammer of God by G. K. Chesterton
The pocketbook game by Alice Childress
The wedding gift by Thomas Raddell
The adventures of the speckled band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The pit and the pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe
The boy who drew cats by Lafcadio Hern
The little governess by Katharine Mansfield
Running wolf by Algernon Blackwood
The peach stone by Paul Horgan
Red by W. Somerset Maugham
The firey wooing of Mordred by P. G. Wodehouse
A sunrise on the veld by Doris Lessing
The ghost by Richard Hughes
The birds by Daphne du Maurier
The story of the widow's son by Mary Lavin
The train from Rhodesia by Nadine Gordimer
Dygartsbush by Walter D. Edmonds
The jilting of Granny Weatherall by Katherine Anne Porter
Winter's morning by Len Deighton
The lady on the gray by John Collier
The wind and the snow of winter by Walter Van Tilburg Clark.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

639 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1978

About the author

The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. is a global media and direct marketing company based in Chappaqua, New York, best known for its flagship publication founded in 1922, Reader's Digest. The company's headquarters are in New York City, where it moved from Pleasantville, New York.

The company was founded by DeWitt and Lila Wallace in 1922 with the first publication of Reader's Digest magazine, but has grown to include a diverse range of magazines, books, music, DVDs and online content.

Reviews

[Cheryl Licata · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fifty short stories by fifty authors make up this anthology selected by the editors of Readers Digest. I reread "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving and "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Alan Poe, just to mention a few of the favorites. I read new-to-me stories by Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Dickens, and many others. I et new-to-me authors like Walter D. Edmonds and Lafcadio Hearn to name two. One of my favorite stories is "The Loss" by Gillian Tindall, about a man and his treasured dog. Another favorite is "The Street That Got Misplaced" by Patrick Waddington. If you like stories that hook you on the first page and let you finish after a few pages, I highly recommend Fireside Reader.

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

The bottle imp / Robert Louis Stevenson --3
An end to dreams / Stephen Vincent Benét --3
Parson's pleasure / Roald Dahl --3
The bride comes to yellow sky / Stephen Crane --3
The monkey's paw / W.W. Jacobs --3
*The foster portfolio / Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. --
*The poor relation's story / Charles Dickens --
The real thing / Henry James --4
The hostage / C.S. Forester --4
Rip van Winkle / Washington Irving --3
The girls in their summer dresses / Irwin Shaw --4
The street that got mislaid / Patrick Waddington --
*A piece of steak / Jack London --
*The secret ingredient / Paul Gallico --
*The hawk / Liam O'Flaherty --
The apprentice / Dorothy Canfield Fisher --2
A sick call / Morley Callaghan --3
A terribly strange bed / Wilkie Collins --4
The loss / Gillian Tindall --
The mouse / Saki (H.H. Munro) --3
*Tickets, please / D.H. Lawrence --
The country of the blind / H.G. Wells --3
The gifts of war / Margaret Drabble --3
The skedule / H.H. Wilson --
Well I'm -! / G.E.M. Skues --
The weather breeder / Merrill Denison --
In and out of the houses / Elizabeth Taylor --3
A rose for Emily / William Faulkner --2
The test / Brendan Gill --
The hammer of God / G.K. Chesterton --4
The pocketbook game / Alice Childress --
The wedding gift / Thomas Raddall --
The adventure of the speckled band / Sir Arthur Conan Doyle --4
The pit and the pendulum / Edgar Allan Poe --3
The boy who drew cats / Lafcadio Hearn --3
The little governess / Katherine Mansfield --4
*Running wolf / Algernon Blackwood --
The peach stone / Paul Horgan --3
Red / W. Somerset Maugham --3
The fiery wooing of Mordred / P.G. Wodehouse --3
*A sunrise on the veld / Doris Lessing --
The ghost / Richard Hughes --
The birds / Daphne du Maurier --4
*The story of the widow's son / Mary Lavin --
*The train from Rhodesia / Nadine Gordimer --
Dygartsbush / Walter D. Edmonds --
The jilting of Granny Weatherall / Katherine Anne Porter --2
Winter's morning / Len Deighton --
The lady on the gray / John Collier --3
The wind and the snow of winter / Walter Van Tilburg Clark--3