The 444 Greatest Stories

Here's a story so old it was "written" before our alphabet was invented. It was first "published" on papyrus. It's also so short you can read a modern translation of it in only a slightly longer time than it takes.... Critique • Quotes • Text • Buy

We know only a handful of ancient Egyptian stories—as opposed to ancient laments, instructions, prayers and the like—and even fewer of those have come down to us in complete form. "The Tale of Sinuhe" though.... Critique • Quotes • Text • Buy

The story of Jonah surviving in the belly of a whale—or a big fish, to be exact—is one of those tales that everyone in the Judeo-Christian or Islamic world has heard, whether or not they are religious. It's one of.... Critique • Quotes • Text • Buy

Unlike Washington Irving's other famous story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", this one might perplex as to why it's considered a classic. The plot of "Rip Van Winkle" is hardly original. Apparently Irving stole it from.... Critique • Quotes • Buy

First thing to remember about "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is that it's a short work. By word count it qualifies as a story, as opposed to a novella or a novel, which it is sometimes called. It's to the credit.... Critique • Quotes • At the movies • Buy

Even a reader who is not into horror can get something out of the supernaturally charged writings of Théophile Gautier, especially his story "Clarimonde"—also known in English translation as "The Dreamland Bride".... Critique • Quotes • Buy

"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is often called the first detective story or the first modern murder mystery. It and the two sequels also featuring amateur sleuth C. Auguste Dupin, "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" and.... Critique • Quotes • At the movies • Buy

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An unfair charge against Rudyard Kipling's story, "The Man Who Would Be King", is that it's not very credible. Full of British Empire arrogance that can imagine a couple of white, soldierly ne'er-do-wells could manage.... Critique • Quotes • Text • At the movies • Buy

Starting with its misleading title, "The Red-Headed League" is the first instance I can recall of a certain mystery-writing trick. A bizarre tale is spun about seemingly unrelated events that seem to have no sensible.... Critique • Quotes • At the movies • Buy

"The Monkey's Paw" is a story so well known for its plot that its writing and style are sometimes forgotten. In fact, it seems not to have been written by anyone at all, but must have filtered down to us as folk tale or.... Critique • Quotes • Text • Buy

Not much to say about this classic bit of humour. It's scarcely three pages long. You can read it on this site in a few minutes, although I'd encourage you to dip into one of the collections of Stephen Leacock's stories.... Critique • Quotes • Text • Buy

Critics find in William Faulkner's story, "A Rose for Emily", an allegory about the American South living in the past, decades after the Civil War, still holding on to the dreams of a supposed former glory, morbidly embracing.... Critique • Quotes • Buy

A funny thing happened when I read Morley Callaghan's Stories recently. It was my second or third reading for most of these stories, and I saw this time how very old-fashioned they were. But that's not what was strange.... Critique • Quotes • Buy

A funny thing happened when I read Morley Callaghan's Stories recently. It was my second or third reading for most of these stories, and I saw this time how very old-fashioned they were. But that's not what was strange.... Critique • Quotes • Buy

A funny thing happened when I read Morley Callaghan's Stories recently. It was my second or third reading for most of these stories, and I saw this time how very old-fashioned they were. But that's not what was strange.... Critique • Quotes • Buy