Contains biographical notes.

Rip Van Winkle ; Legend of Sleepy Hollow / Washington Irving -- Young Goodman Brown ; Minister's black veil ; May-pole of Merry Mount / Nathaniel Hawthorne -- Fall of the House of Usher ; Masque of the red death ; Tell-tale heart ; Purloined letter / Edgar Allan Poe -- Bartleby the scrivner / Herman Melville -- Man without a country / Edward Everett Hale -- My contraband / Louisa May Alcott -- Lady, or the tiger / Frank R. Stockton -- Celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County ; Man that corrupted Hadleyburg / Mark Twain -- Luck of Roaring Camp ; Outcasts of Poker Flat / Bret Harte -- Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge ; Middle toe of the right foot / Ambrose Bierce -- Aspern papers ; Beast in the jungle / Henry James -- 'Sieur George / George Washington Cable -- White Heron ; Failure of David Berry / Sarah Orne Jewett -- D©♭sir©♭es baby ; Athénaïse / Kate Chopin -- Revolt of "Mother" ; New England nun / Mary E. Wilkins Freeman -- Wife of his youth / Charles W. Chesnutt -- Yellow wall-paper / Charlotte Perkins Gilman -- Up the Coolly / Hamlin Garland -- Other two ; Autre temps / Edith Wharton -- Gift of the Magi ; Retrieved reformation ; Ransom of Red Chief / O. Henry -- Open boat ; Blue hotel ; Bride comes to Yellow Sky / Stephen Crane -- To build a fire / Jack London -- Paul's case ; Sculptor's funeral / Willa Cather -- Alibi Ike / Ring Lardner -- Sophistication ; Egg / Sherwood Anderson -- Outsider ; Colour out of space / H.P. Lovecraft -- Bernice bobs her hair ; Diamond as big as the Ritz ; Winter dreams / F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Fifty classics of American storytelling.