Some of the most popular horror and mystery stories of all time are collected together here in "The Best Short Stories of Edgar Allan Poe." A master of the macabre, Poe exhibits his literary prowess in these chilling and classic tales. Included in this collection is "The Fall of the House of Usher," the story of a man and his sister who suffer from a strange, debilitating illness. Her death drives him to the point of madness as their fragile mansion falls along with the Usher family line. One of Poe's most famous stories, it is a masterpiece of Gothic literature. ...

When Sir Charles Baskerville is found suspiciously dead, his friend, Dr. James Mortimer asks Sherlock Holmes to look into the death. While the cause of death is determined to be a heart attack, Mortimer suspects foul play and fears that Sir Charles's nephew and sole heir, Sir Henry Baskerville, may be in danger next. At the center of the investigation is the curse of the Baskervilles, which dates back to the time of the English Civil War. Supposedly the family's ancestor, Hugo Baskerville, sold his soul to the devil, and the family has been haunted by a large ...

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), the reclusive and intensely private poet saw only a few of her poems (she wrote well over a thousand) published during her life. After discovering a trove of manuscripts left in a wooden box, Dickinson’s sister Lavinia, fortunately, chose to disobey Emily’s wishes for her work to be burned after death. With the help of Amherst professors, Lavinia brought her sister’s gifted verse into print. “The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson” brings together the first three series of her posthumous publications ...

Collected together here are three of Jane Austen’s posthumously published works; “Sanditon”, “The Watsons”, and “Lady Susan”. These fragmentary tales show Austen experimenting with different literary styles and parodying the popular novels of her day. In “Sanditon,” Austen uses the premise of an idyllic and modern seaside town to examine its inhabitants and their various social circles with her trademark sharp social observations and wit. “The Watsons” is the story of Mr. Watson, a widowed ...

First published in 1912, “Riders of the Purple Sage” is Zane Grey’s genre defining novel which has been referred to as “the most popular western novel of all time.” Set in the canyon country of southern Utah in 1871, it is the story of Jane Withersteen, a Mormon who has refused the wishes of her father to marry Elder Tull because she does not love him. Jane, whose father has passed away and has inherited his valuable ranch, is persecuted by the Mormon community for her refusal to marry Elder Tull, and for her befriending of ...

The final novel by Charles Dickens, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”, was unfinished at the time of his death in 1870. The novel revolves around John Jasper, choirmaster and opium addict, who is the guardian of his orphaned nephew Edwin Drood. Before the death of his parents, Edwin was promised to marry Rosa Bud, another orphan, but their affections have cooled upon reaching adulthood. Rosa has also attracted the affections of Jasper, her teacher, as well as Neville Landless, a fellow orphan and the twin brother of Rosa’s friend, Helena. While ...

First published in 1922, “The Enchanted April” by British author Elizabeth von Arnim is the story of four very different English women who spend a month vacationing together in Italy at the Tuscan Villa, San Salvatore. Each finding themselves in need of a holiday from their dreary lives back home, the four women rent an Italian castle on the Mediterranean coast and experience a reawakening in life through their shared realizations and experiences there. While the women vary widely in temperament and taste each struggle with relationships in their ...

American Baptist minister and lawyer, Russell Conwell was the founder and first President of Temple University who is probably best remembered for his inspirational speech “Acres of Diamonds”, in which he puts forth the idea that one need not look elsewhere for opportunity, but rather all the resources for achieving success exist in one’s own backyard. This idea is exemplified in the parable of a man who sells his farm and abandons his family in search of diamonds. His journey takes him far and wide but without success and ultimately defeated ...

First published anonymously in 1678, Madame de Lafayette is generally believed to be the author behind “The Princess of Cleves”. Set between October 1558 and November 1559 at the royal court of Henry II of France, the novel is concerned with Mademoiselle de Chartres, a sheltered heiress who is brought to the court by her mother to find her a proper husband. This soon to be princess will find herself caught between her duty as a wife and her untimely love for another man. “The Princess of Cleves” is one of the great classics of French ...

Charles Brockden Brown was an American novelist, historian, and editor, who has been recognized as one of the first American novelists and an early proponent of the Gothic romance genre. Brown’s works are a combination of his own Romantic imagination and Enlightenment ideals, and are often characterized by elements of the sensational and violent. His work also reflects an interest in the early feminist movement, and frequently draws on Enlightenment-era medical writings by authors like Erasmus Darwin. “Wieland”, Brown’s most highly ...