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A Celebration of the Short Story

El Verdugo by Honore de Balzac

Balzac’s tale of French troops taking over a Spanish town during the Napoleonic war.

• 23 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

The Toys of Peace by Saki

Saki’s satire about children given toys representing normal life rather than war.

• 14 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

The String Quartet by Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf’s sketch of woman finding emotions and storylines in music.

• 10 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe’s tale of a morbidly absorbing painting and the sacrifices made for art.

• 8 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant

Guy de Maupassant’s story about a woman devoting her life to repay a debt she never owed.

• 20 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

The Mesmeric Mountain by Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane’s fantastical tale of a man who thinks he’s being followed – by a mountain.

• 10 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe’s macabre tale of Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plague.

• 16 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

The Interlopers by Saki

Saki's fable about warring neighbours.

• 15 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

The Fly by Katherine Mansfield

Katherine Mansfield’s 1922 story about a boss and his old employee reliving old times.

• 15 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

The Cop and the Anthem by O. Henry

O. Henry’s parable about a homeless man seeking shelter, and the lengths he goes to.

• 16 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

The Cone by HG Wells

HG Wells’ twisted tale about a man taking revenge on an adulterer.

• 27 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

The Christening by DH Lawrence

DH Lawrence’s story of a young unmarried mother, her baby and her stern collier father.

• 24 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

Tarquin of Cheapside by F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s strange Elizabethan-set tale of a young writer is seeking refuge.

• 16 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

Ma'ame Pelagie by Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin portrait of a woman on a plantation adjusting after the American Civil War.

• 22 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

The Kabuliwalah by Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore’s tale of a little girl befriending a travelling fruit salesman.

• 22 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

How It Happened by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle's ghostly tale of a man and his motor.ÌýWho survives to tell the story?

• 8 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce’s American Civil War tale about an entrapped Confederate plantation owner.

• 23 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

A Pair of Silk Stockings by Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin’s tale of a woman who spends a windfall on herself, instead of her children.

• 12 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

A Gentleman Friend by Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov’s fable about a woman’s search for luxury and her encounter with a dentist.

• 9 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

A Blunder by Anton Chekhov

Chekhov’s sketch about an old couple waiting for a man to propose to their daughter.

• 5 mins

A Celebration of the Short Story

Araby by James Joyce

James Joyce’s story from Dubliners about a boy enchanted by a woman and a utopian bazaar.

• 13 mins

Stories for Summer

A Respectable Woman by Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin’s cleverly observed story about a woman’s ambivalence towards a guest.

• 11 mins

Stories for Summer

Holiday Group by EM Delafield

EM Delafield’s subtle and satirical story of a family's summer trip to the coast.

• 32 mins

Stories for Summer

The Postmaster by Rabindranath Tagore

Tagore’s tale of a postman leaving his job and the poor girl he's been looking after.

• 16 mins

Stories for Summer

A Haunted House by Virginia Woolf

Woolf’s strangely romantic sketch of a ghostly couple watching over their old home.

• 6 mins

Stories for Summer

After the Race by James Joyce

James Joyce’s youthful vignette about a jubilant, heady summer evening spent in Dublin.

• 14 mins

Stories for Summer

The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky by Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane’s humorous story of a newlywed woman arriving in a raucous Texan town.

• 26 mins

Stories for Summer

Wailing Well by MR James

MR James’ story of summer scout trip takes a sinister turn when Stanley breaks the rules.

• 25 mins

Stories for Summer

Three Questions by Leo Tolstoy

Tolstoy’s timeless parable of a king seeking answers to life’s most important questions.

• 9 mins

Stories for Summer

Rats by MR James

MR James’ spine-tingling story about a young writer sojourn in a remote Suffolk inn.

• 15 mins