Cat fanciers will want to curl up with this collection of tales about felines of many temperaments ― adventurous, naive, crafty, and independent. Nearly thirty stories offer a rich variety of moods and settings, from H. P. Lovecraft's chilling tale of revenge, "The Cats of Ulthar," to Honoré de Balzac's droll satire of British respectability, "The Afflictions of an English Cat." Selections include Emile Zola's fable "Cat's Paradise," in which an indoor cat takes to the streets; "Gipsy" by Booth Tarkington, a brilliant study of a wild cat; "The Cat that Walked by Himself" from Rudyard Kipling's Just So stories; "Tom Quartz" by Mark Twain; "How a Cat Played Robinson Crusoe" by Charles G. D. Roberts; Charles Perrault's classic rendition of "Puss in Boots"; and entrancing cat tales by Saki, Bram Stoker, Théophile Gautier, and others.

This collection explores the history and development of the anglophone short story since the beginning of the nineteenth century.

DIVFirst-rate selections include Hardy's "The Fiddler of the Reels," James' "Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad," Dickens' "The Haunted Hotel," and tales by Saki, Kipling, Lawrence, Trollope, Stevenson, and others. /div

The father of the detective novel and an innovator in American Gothic fiction, Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) made his living as America's first great literary critic. Today he is best remembered for his short stories and poems, haunting works of horror and mystery that remain popular around the world. This anthology presents Poe's finest works in a rich selection of poetry and prose that features his only complete novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. Short stories include "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Purloined Letter," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and more than a dozen others. In addition to a few selections of Poe's nonfiction writing, the compilation offers "The Conqueror Worm," "Annabel Lee," "The Raven," and many other memorable poems.

Born in Burma in 1870, Scottish writer H. H. Munro adopted the pseudonym Saki to satirize the social conventions, cruelty, and foolishness of the Edwardian era. His highly readable blend of flippant humor and outrageous inventiveness is often overlaid with a mood of horror. After Munro's untimely death in action during World War I, Christopher Morley wrote: "the empty glass we turn down for him is the fragile, hollow-stemmed goblet meant for the finest champag≠ it is of the driest." Readers can sample Munro's special brand of well-plotted satiric fiction in this inexpensive collection of his best tales. In addition to the title story, selections include "Tobermory," "Laura," "The Open Window," and "The Schartz-Metterklume Method." With its biting wit and vein of cruelty, Munro's work has sometimes been compared to early Evelyn Waugh; admirers of Waugh and other discerning readers are sure to savor this stimulating taste of vintage Saki.

"The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories" returns with the second volume in this annual series collecting the very best of the year's mystery and crime fiction from all around the world.

An intelligent, amusing, and affectionate look at cats in history, literature, and art

Classic Books Library presents this brand new edition of the short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (1890) by Ambrose Bierce. In this text Bierce creatively uses both structure and content to explore the concept of time, from present to past, and reflecting its transitional and illusive qualities. The story is one of Bierce’s most popular and acclaimed works, alongside “The Devil’s Dictionary” (1911). Bierce (1842-c. 1914) was an American writer, journalist and Civil War veteran associated with the realism literary movement. His writing is noted for its cynical, brooding tones and structural precision.

Who is the uninvited guest wearing a creepy costume at Prince Prospero's ball? Can a man be driven mad by the "sounds" of the crime he has committed? These spine-tingling stories and others by Edgar Allan Poe are adapted for a first chapter book reader.

Rich selection of 123 poems by six great English Romantic poets: William Blake (24 poems), William Wordsworth (27 poems), Samuel Taylor Coleridge (10 poems), Lord Byron (16 poems), Percy Bysshe Shelley (24 poems) and John Keats (22 poems). Introduction and brief commentaries on the poets. Includes 2 selections from the Common Core State Standards Initiative: "Ozymandias" and "Ode on a Grecian Urn."