December 18, 2020: "A Madison Square Arabian Night" and "The Purple Dress" from The Trimmed Lamp and Other Tales of the Four Million, by O. Henry

Two stories from early 20th-century New York, each with an ironic twist and a sense of humor. Carson Chalmers is a modern-day sorcerer, creating a fairytale adventure for a random stranger. Maida has scrimped and saved to buy her purple dress for the Thanksgiving dinner, but Thanksgiving doesn't turn out quite the way she planned.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/3707

December 25, 2020: "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes is at his best as he searches for the criminal responsible for stealing a famous diamond (and the owner of a lost goose!). The faithful Dr. Watson is along for the ride as the great detective hunts through London in a race to save an innocent man from hanging.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/48320

January 1, 2021: "A Drama in the Air" from A Winter Amid the Ice and Other Thrilling Stories, by Jules Verne

A lone balloonist finds himself with an unexpected passenger: a dangerously fanatical young man with dreams of glory. This story (the second one that Verne ever published) follows an aerial hijacking as it would have happened in the 1850s.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/28657

January 8, 2021: "The Quarantine at Alexander Abraham's" from Chronicles of Avonlea, by L. M. Montgomery

Ms. MacPherson unwillingly finds herself trapped in a house with a grumpy man who may or may not have smallpox. But not to worry: she and her cat are more than up to the task of reorganizing the household, regardless of the wishes of the homeowner and his dog.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1354

January 15, 2021: "The Clever Student and the Master of Black Arts" and "Mother Hildegarde" from The Wonder-Clock, or Four & Twenty Marvelous Tales, by Howard and Katharine Pyle

Two fairytales from one of the great illustrators of the nineteenth century. Follow the Clever Student as he works to outwit the Master of Black Arts and win his lady-love. Mother Hildegarde tries to teach a proud princess a lesson, but finds the teaching a hard task indeed.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/63383

January 22, 2021: "The Story of the Young Man with the Cream Tarts" from The New Arabian Nights, by Robert Louis Stevenson

When Prince Florizel and Colonel Geraldine put on their disguises, they merely expected an evening of entertainment in the bars of London. However, the night takes a darker turn when a stranger invites them to visit the Suicide Club.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/839

January 29: 2021: "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman; "The Kiss" from The Awakening and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin

A new mother sinks into a depression following the birth of her baby, and spends her time in a lonely room trying to recover. However, there is something sinister about the wallpaper in the room, and subtle hints suggest the room has an ominous history. In the second story, a young woman maneuvers to secure both wealth and love in the upper reaches of Louisiana society.

Full text online: 

"The Yellow Wallpaper": http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1952
"The Kiss": http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/160

February 5, 2021: "The Nail" by Pedro de Alarçon, from Library of the World's Best Mystery and Detective Stories

A lawyer and a judge cooperate to solve an old murder, but the investigation leads them in an uncomfortable direction. The law is clear, but justice may be another matter altogether.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/12758

February 12, 2021: "Idas and Marpessa" and "The Death of Baldur" from A Book of Myths, by Jean Lang

Two little-known legends, one from Greece and one from Scandinavia.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/22693

February 19, 2021: "The Million-Pound Bank-Note" from The Million-Pound Bank-Note and Other New Stories, by Mark Twain

If someone handed you a million-dollar bill, could you find a way to spend it? Follow our narrator, a poor man in a ridiculous situation, as he struggles to manage the tremendous gift he has just been given.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/61522

February 26, 2021: "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell

Rainsford is a keen hunter, with trophies from all over the world, but on a remote Caribbean island he finds himself participating in a hunt of a entirely different kind.

Full text online: https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20171122

 March 5, 2021: "Number 17" by E. Nesbit; "Louis" from The Toys of Peace and Other Papers by Saki

Traveling salesmen are notorious for tall tales, but when a group of them gather in a quiet hotel to trade ghost stories, the story behind room #17 starts to feel disturbingly real. A man finds his life is increasingly being ruled by his wife's dog, Louis, and decides he must take steps.

Full text online:

"Number 17": https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=201410D6
"Louis": http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1477

March 12, 2021: "Locum Tenens" from The Lucky Number by Ian Hay

Two friends set out on a short motorcycle trip through the English countryside, but find themselves caught up in increasingly ludicrous events after one is mistaken for the local village priest.

Full text online: https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20200548

March 19, 2021: "Inscrutable Decrees" and "Roderick's Story" from Visible and Invisible by E. F. Benson

Two stories of the supernatural. In "Inscrutable Decrees," a seance reveals a clue to a hideous crime. In "Roderick's Story," a man struggles to reach his lost love, knowing he has only a short time to live.

Full text online: https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20121017

March 26, 2021: "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "The Affair at Coulter's Notch" from The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 2 by Ambrose Bierce

Two classic American stories about the Civil War. Each is a straightforward adventure story on the surface, with another, deeper story hidden underneath.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/13334

April 2, 2021: "Bill the Bloodhound" from The Man With Two Left Feet and Other Stories by P. G. Wodehouse

The adventures of the least-successful detective in Britain, and how he solved his case with some help from the culprits.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/7471

April 9, 2021: "Cruelties" from The Best Short Stories of 1918 by Edwina Stanton Babcock

A quiet, polite and inoffensive shopkeeper struggles to hold her own in a town that has none of those qualities.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/39635

April 16, 2021: "The Royal Hunchback" from Legends and Myths of Hawaii by His Hawaiian Majesty Kalakaua

A story from Hawaiian history of a thousand years ago, about the clash between rival kings over control of the Big Island. Written by the second-to-last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/56597

April 23, 2021: "The Verdict" and "The Portrait" by Edith Wharton

Painting is not just about capturing a likeness--it's about making a statement, climbing the social ladder, and showing (or hiding) certain personal traits. Here we have two stories about portrait painters, written by a woman with extensive experience of high society in the late 1800s.

Full text online: 

"The Verdict": http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/4533
"The Portrait": http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/9190

April 30, 2021: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving

A wild tale of romance, jealousy, and ghosts in rural New York State. Two men compete for the attentions of a wealthy coquette while a headless horseman stalks the roads at night.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/2048

May 7, 2021: "The Luck of Roaring Camp" and "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" by Bret Harte

Two stories from the California goldfields of the 1850s. In "The Luck of Roaring Camp," a settlement of rough men pulls together to look after an orphaned child--in their own way. In "The Outcasts of Poker Flat," a small group of travelers struggles to cross the Sierra Nevada through winter snows.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/6373

May 14, 2021: "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" from The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling

The story of a mongoose and his battle to free the garden from cobras.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/236

May 21, 2021: "The Prisoners" and "The Diamond Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant

Two stories from France. In "The Prisoners," the German army invades, but fails to reckon with a forester's family and the local militia. In "The Diamond Necklace," a poor woman gets to be Cinderella for a night--but at what price?

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/3090

May 28, 2021: "Roast Beef, Medium" and "Representing T. A. Buck" from Roast Beef, Medium: The Business Adventures of Emma McChesney, by Edna Ferber

Emma McChesney, traveling saleswoman for T. A. Buck's Featherloom Petticoats, battles heartbreak, indigestion and lousy interior decorating in her quest to sell the greatest petticoats ever made.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/6016

June 4, 2021: "The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge" and "The Million Dollar Bond Robbery" from Poirot Investigates, by Agatha Christie

Two classic detective stories feature the famous Belgian, Hercule Poirot, as he solves the most intricate crimes with nothing more than his wits and some cough medicine.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/61262

June 11, 2021: "The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad" and "The Man Who Did Not Wish to Die" from Japanese Fairy Tales, by Yei Theodora Ozaki

Yei Theodora Ozaki split her life between two countries, her mother's England and her father's Japan. As one of the first to translate Japanese literature into English, she introduced the west to a number of classic fairy tales. Here are two about men on quests, from the palace of the Sea Dragon to the land of Perpetual Life.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/4018

June 18, 2021: "Bliss" and "A Dill Pickle" from Bliss and Other Stories, by Katherine Mansfield

The practicalities of romance among the upper middle class. In "Bliss," a woman hosts a dinner party, with her attention focused on one particular guest. In "A Dill Pickle," former lovers meet after several years and debate whether to resume their affair.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/44385

June 25, 2021: "The Open Boat" from The Open Boat and Other Stories, by Stephen Crane

Four men struggle to reach shore after their vessel sinks. Based on the author's own experience of being shipwrecked off the coast of Florida.

Full text online: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/45524

July 2, 2021: "The Sentimentality of William Tavener" and "The Joy of Nelly Deane" by Willa Cather

Two quiet stories about life on the Nebraska frontier. In the first, a married couple reflect on the life they've built together, in the sudden realization that their children are growing up. In the second, a young woman returns to her hometown and is struck by how different her life has become from that of her childhood friend.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/25586

July 9, 2021: Three chapters from A Parody Outline of History, by Donald Ogden Stewart

American history as you've never heard it, featuring the famous sorcerer, Christofer Colombo, and the great enemy of all tax-collectors, Little Prudence. A parody of both history and literature, with every chapter in the style of a different writer.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1478

July 16, 2021: Four stories from The Book of Wonder, by Lord Dunsany

Four very short stories from the man who launched the modern fantasy genre. The Book of Wonder mixes high fantasy with real places, and includes everything you'd expect from the genre: made-up creatures, romance, adventure, magic, and occasional humor.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/7477

 

July 23, 2021: "The Thief of St. Loo" by Mazo de la Roche and "At the Foot of the Hill" by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Two stories about social outcasts. In "The Thief of St. Loo," a young man tries to purchase a place in the society of a provincial Quebec town. In "At the Foot of the Hill," a great-grandfather struggles to remain relevant in a world that has largely left him behind.

Full text online: 

"The Thief of St. Loo": https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20201138
"At the Foot of the Hill": https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20200977

July 30, 2021: ​SUMMER BREAK

August 6, 2021: SUMMER BREAK

August 13, 2021: "Dawson's Dilemma" by an unknown author

William Dawson is having a bad week. Not only is he getting nowhere with his courtship of Ms. Robertson, his reflection in the mirror has deserted him in search of an independent life. Most humiliating of all, the reflected Dawson is already engaged to the reflected Ms. Robertson, and insists on giving him romantic advice when it's least wanted.

Full text online: https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20140507

August 20, 2021: "The Cruise of the Willing Mind" and "The Twenty-Kroner Story" by A. E. W. Mason

Two stories about the sea. A captain desperate to earn a profit pushes his ship and crew to the limits, and a sailor pays for a surgical operation with more than money.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/12859

August 27, 2021: "The Lady and the Flagon" by Anthony Hope

A bored duke disguises himself as a policeman for the entertainment, but finds himself in trouble when his own house is robbed.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/49630

September 3, 2021: "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe

Stories of horror, told from the point of view of a depraved mind. Edgar Allan Poe was famous for his descriptions of ingenious murders, and these two tales illustrate why.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/2148

September 10, 2021: "The Fall of Edward Barnard" by W. Somerset Maugham

Bateman Hunter was always close friends with Edward Barnard, despite their mutual love for the same woman. When Edward disappears in Tahiti, Bateman goes in search of him, but is completely unprepared for what he finds.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/26854

September 17, 2021: "At the Rainbow's End" and "Jan, the Unrepentant" by Jack London

Two stories based on Jack London's experiences in the Klondike. "At the Rainbow's End" follows a career criminal as he moves from town to town across the north. In "Jan, the Unrepentant," set on the beaches of Nome, five men try to devise their own justice system but can't agree on procedure.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1655

September 24, 2021: "The Elixir of Life" by Honore de Balzac

A dissolute young man inherits a magic potion that grants eternal life, but with a catch--the potion must be applied by someone else, immediately after death. For a man who has dedicated his existence to hedonistic pleasure, who can he trust to resurrect him?

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/10577

October 1, 2021: "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime" by Oscar Wilde

According to prophecy, Lord Arthur Savile will be unable to marry his fiancee until he first commits murder. As a dutiful young man, he sets out to kill somebody--anybody--but finds the task is trickier than he expected.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/773

October 8, 2021: Three stories by J. M. Barrie

Three very short stories by the author of Peter Pan. In "My Brother Henry," the narrator tells an innocent lie to avoid hurt feelings, and then finds himself trapped in more and more elaborate deception. In "Gilray's Flower-Pot," the author is tasked with caring for a friend's chrysanthemum, with disastrous results. Finally, in "A Powerful Drug," a headache sufferer discovers a miracle cure, with one fairly nasty side effect.

Full text online:

"My Brother Henry" and "Gilray's Flower-Pot": https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/32846
"A Powerful Drug": https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/39543

October 15, 2021: "The Heart's Delight" by Anna Katharine Green

When dead men start floating down the Hudson River, the police initially suspect suicide. But is it coincidence that all the deceased are wealthy, with greedy heirs? If foul play was afoot, why are there no signs of violence? And what risks will Ebenezer Gryce have to take to unravel the mystery?

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/31578

October 22, 2021: "A Story of a Wedding-Tour" by Margaret Oliphant

It was supposed to be a romantic honeymoon in the south of France, but things go sideways when the bride skips town. A story about what happens when you act on your second thoughts.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/43084

October 29, 2021: "Tom's Money" by Harriet Prescott Spofford; "A Mother of Four" by Juliet Wilbor Tompkins

Two humorous stories from 1911. In "Tom's Money," a woman home alone with a fortune in cash tries to outsmart the burglar under the bed. In "A Mother of Four," a mother schemes to marry off her twin daughters, while the girls scheme to remain unmarried.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/24434

November 5, 2021: Three stories from Tales of the Punjab, by Flora Annie Steel

Three fairytales from India. In "Sir Buzz," a soldier's son acquires a sharp-tongued servant with magic powers. In "The Faithful Prince," a young man searches for his bride despite homesickness, her father's disapproval, and a horde of demons. "The Barber's Clever Wife" tells the story of a poor woman and a gang of thieves.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/6145

November 12, 2021: "The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Parson Hooper throws his congregation into confusion one morning when he comes to church wearing a black veil over his eyes. What is the veil hiding? Is it a symbol of shame? And why won't the parson explain?

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/13707

November 19, 2021: Three stories by Alice Dunbar-Nelson

Three stories from New Orleans in the late 19th century. Alice Dunbar-Nelson writes about all the layers of Louisiana society: the local girls using witchcraft to snare a beau in "The Goodness of St. Roque," a poverty-stricken old Frenchman in "M'sieu Fortier's Violin," and the upper-crust demoiselle slumming it with a working man in "The Fisherman of Pass Christian."

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/688

December 3, 2021: "Hunted Down" by Charles Dickens

A detective story from a famous Victorian novelist. The manager of a life-insurance office feels increasingly uneasy about the intentions of one of his acquaintances, who seems to take a keen interest in the health of other customers.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/807

December 10, 2021: "His Smile" by Susan Glaspell

A woman attends every single showing of a movie, no matter where or when it's on screen, for personal reasons that dismay her family. Her sense of desperation grows as the movie approaches the end of its run.

Full text online: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/18709