10 of the Best Very Short Stories That Can Be Read
One very short story – often attributed to Ernest Hemingway but actually the work of another writer – is just six words long: ‘For sale: baby shoes, never worn’. And some of the greatest fiction-writers of the last two centuries have written memorable short stories which stretch to little more than a few pages: short enough to be read in a coffee break. Below, we introduce ten classic short stories – very short stories – from some of the finest authors in the literary canon. All of the stories can be read online: follow the links provided to read them
1. Anton Chekhov, ‘The Student’.
A key device in many Chekhov short stories is the epiphany: a sudden realisation or moment of enlightenment experienced by one of the story’s characters, usually the protagonist. In many ways, the epiphany can be said to perform a similar function to the plot twist or revelation at the end of a more traditional (i.e., plot-driven) short story.
In ‘The Student’, one of Chekhov’s shortest stories, a young seminary is travelling home on Good Friday. He meets two women, a mother and her daughter who have both been widowed, and joins them around their fire, and the conversation turns to the Gospels, since it is Easter. The student begins telling them about the story of Peter’s denial of Jesus, and this tale reawakens painful memories in the two women. Here, the emphasis is more on character and emotion than plot and incident, as we discuss in our analysis of the story.
2. Kate Chopin, ‘The Story of an Hour’.
Some short stories can say all they need to do in just a few pages, and Kate Chopin’s three-page 1894 story ‘The Story of an Hour’ (sometimes known as ‘The Dream of an Hour’) is a classic example. Yet those three pages remain tantalisingly ambiguous, perhaps because so little is said, so much merely hinted at.
Chopin’s short story is a subtle, studied analysis of death, marriage, and personal wishes. Written in April 1894 and originally published in Vogue in December of that year, the story focuses on an hour in the life of a married woman who has just learnt that her husband has apparently died.
We have analysed this story here.
3. Saki, ‘The Lumber-Room’.
Saki, born Hector Hugh Munro, is one of the wittiest short-story writers in English, a missing link between Wilde and Wodehouse. Yet he remains undervalued.
‘The Lumber Room’ is a classic short story about a child who is too clever for the adults: a mischievous boy, Nicholas, seeks to outwit his aunt so he can gain access to the lumber-room with its hidden treasures and curiosities. The story is also about the nature of obedience and the limited view of the world adults have, when contra
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URL: https://theshortstory.co.uk/resources/free-short-stories/
TITLE: Free Short Stories - TSS Publishing
CONTENT: We believe that the key to writing good short stories is reading good short stories.Below, we have provided an ever-expanding selection of old and new short stories that are free to download.Short story writers are listed alphabetically.In 2020 we’ll be adding a wide range of new stories to read online.Recently added stories will be fund at the top of the page.Recently addedAiken, Conrad ‘Silent Snow, Secret Snow’ (online read: c. 6000 words)No adverts. No pop-ups. No Sign-ups.That’s because we’re a very small, but passionate team who spend hundreds of hours curating resources such as these classic short stories. But we don’t just focus on the old. We’re also a paying market, publishing brilliant new work of fiction and non-fiction. Please do consider supporting us in whatever way you can, so we can maintain the work we do. Thank you.Please support our workAAnderson, Sherwood ‘The Dumb Man’ (c. 500 words)Ade, George ‘The Collision’ (c. 1500 words)Ade, George ‘The Divine Spark’ (c. 1000 words)Ade, George ‘The Juvenile and Mankind’ (c. 500 words)Antsey, F. ‘Marjory’ (c. 8500 words)BBaldwin, James ‘Bruce and the Spider’ (c. 500 words)Baldwin, James ‘The Bell of Atri’ (c. 500 words)Baldwin, James ‘Casablanca’ (c. 500 words)Baldwin, James ‘Antonio Canova’ (c. 1000 words)Baldwin, James ‘Arnold Winkelried’ (c. 500 words)Baldwin, James ‘Doctor Goldsmith’ (c. 500 words)Baldwin, James ‘The Endless Tale’ (c. 1000 words)Balzac, Honore de ‘The Conscript’ (c. 6000 words)Balzac, Honore de ‘Innocence’ (c. 1000 words)Balzac, Honore de ‘The Devil’s Heir’ (c. 6500 words)Bierce, Ambrose ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek’ (c. 3000 words)Bierce, Ambrose ‘Oil of Dog’ (c. 1500 words)Brown, Alice ‘Bankrupt’ (c. 7500 words)Brown, Alice ‘Heartease’ (c. 3500 words)Brown, Alice ‘The Advocate’ (c. 4500 words)Brown, Alice ‘The End of All Living’ (c. 7000 words)CChekhov, Anton ‘The Bet’ (c. 3000 words)Chekhov, Anton ‘The Lottery Ticket’ (c. 2000 words)Chekhov, Anton ‘About Love’ (c. 4000 words)Chekhov, Anton ‘An Actor’s End’ (c. 2500 words)Chekhov, Anton ‘Art’ (c. 2500 words)Chekhov, Anton ‘An Avenger’ (c. 2000 words)Chesterton, G. K. ‘The Blue Cross’ (c. 7500 words)Chesterton, G. K. ‘The Bottomless Well’ (c. 6500 words)Chesterton, G. K. ‘The Eye of Apollo’ (c. 6000 words)Chesterton, G. K. ‘The God of Gongs’ (c. 6000 words)Chesterton, G. K. ‘The Hammer of God’ (c. 6500 words)Chesterton, G. K. ‘The Purple Wig’ (c. 5500 words)Collins, Willie ‘A Fair Penitent’ (c. 4500 words)Conrad, Joseph ‘An Anarchist’ (c. 8500 words)Crane, Stephen ‘A Desertion’ (c. 1500 words)DDefoe, Daniel ‘The Apparition of Mrs Veal’ (c. 3500 words)De Mille, James ‘The Artist of Florence
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Comments (1)
Really relatable... I enjoyed it!