Tales That Made a Nation
A Seven-Day Anthology of Essential 19th-Century American Short Stories
Seven stories that tell you who America was — and who it was becoming.
Available in ebook and paperback. The link takes you to your local Amazon store.
From Twain's humour to Poe's dread to Gilman's fury, this anthology traces the full arc of 19th-century American fiction in seven stories. Curated in a deliberate order, each one builds on the last — from social observation toward deep psychological and moral inquiry.
Featuring Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Kate Chopin, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Edgar Allan Poe and Ambrose Bierce. A remarkable arc: from Twain's laugh-out-loud frontier humour to Bierce's devastating final illusion, from communal laughter to private dread.
Inside this volume
- The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County — Mark Twain
- The Luck of Roaring Camp — Bret Harte
- Désirée's Baby — Kate Chopin
- Young Goodman Brown — Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Yellow Wallpaper — Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- The Fall of the House of Usher — Edgar Allan Poe
- An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge — Ambrose Bierce
Every volume includes
- Seven complete short stories, one for each day
- A reading note before each story, so you're never reading blind
- An introduction to the author and where they sit in literary history
- Discussion questions built in — for reflection or group use
- An annotated guide to what to read next
Start With One Story
Seven Days to the Classics is free. Seven stories by seven authors, delivered one a day. It's the easiest possible way to find out whether this series is for you.
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