Dating back to the early traditions of oral storytelling, the short story has evolved through the ages from myths, legends, fairy tales, fables, parables, stories in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, tales in the Panchatantra, the adventure tales of the Odyssey, biblical stories, the Norse sagas and many others.
As the oriental tale and Gothic novel gained popularity in the latter half of the eighteenth century, short story began developing in Britain. And by the beginning of nineteenth century, it had highly evolved as a form.
This anthology is a compilation of some of the classic short stories of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, from around the world. Beginning with the realistic stories of Pushkin and Chekov, it includes ‘The Necklace’ by Guy de Maupassant, ‘Eve’s Diary’ by Mark Twain, ‘The “Slapping Sal”’ by Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘The
Fly’ by Katherine Mansfield, ‘A Little Cloud’ by James Joyce, ‘White Nights’ by Fyodor Dostoevsky, ‘The Postmaster’ by Rabindranath Tagore and ‘The Gift of Magi’ by O. Henry.