V. S. Pritchett, one of our greatest short-story writers, has chosen forty-one stories written in the English language for this volume, producing a collection that successfully displays the wealth and variety of an art that spans some 200 years.

• Introduction


• The Two Drovers


• The Birthmark


• The Fall of the House of Usher


• The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County


• The Iliad of Sandy Bar


• The Coupe de Grâce


• Paste


• Thrawn Janet


• The Secret Sharer


• The Record of Badalia Herodsfoot


• Telemachus, Friend


• Sredni Vashtar


• The Open Boat


• An Ideal Craftsman


• An Official Position


• I Want to Know Why


• The Field of Mustard


• Grace


• The Rocking-Horse Winner


• Who Dealt?


• The Woman at the Store


• Flowering Judas


• The Tent


• Dry September


• Hills Like White Elephants


• The Demon Lover


• Many Are Disappointed


• Sinners


• Guests of the Nation


• The Runaway


• Never


• A Horse and Two Goats


• A Visit of Charity


• Various Temptations


• My Vocation


• Five-Twenty


• Goodbye, My Brother


• Mrs Fortescue


• Parker's Back


• Going Home


• Lifeguard


• References and Acknowledgements


• Index of Authors