The American Experience: A Collection of Great American Stories

by Edgar Allan Poe, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack London, Kate Chopin

Overview

Ten classic stories from authors who have masterfully captured the American experience.

Irving's incredible and amusing tale of the archetypal "Rip Van Winkle" relates the story of a man who slept through history.

Stephen Crane's "The Red Badge of Courage" tells of a young soldier who must struggle with his conscience no matter what the consequences.

"The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is Mark Twain's hilarious story of a contest to end all contests in the rowdy days of the Forty-Niners.

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Man of the Crowd" tells of one man's strange fascination with another.

"The Ransom of Red Chief" is O. Henry's tale of a kidnapping that goes horribly, horribly, wrong.

"Miss Tempy's Watchers" by Sarah Orne Jewett speaks of the power of friendship.

Kate Chopin's lovely "Desiree's Baby" tells the poignant story of one woman's search for her past.

Jack London's acclaimed "The Call of the Wild" is a thrilling adventure of nature and survival.

Edith Wharton pens a chilling ghost story in the atmospheric "The Eyes."

And "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" is F. Scott Fitzgerald's wry and amusing tale of a young lady's struggle for social success.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781491527375
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	07/01/2014
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 6.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was orphaned at the age of three and adopted by a wealthy Virginia family with whom he had a troubled relationship. He excelled in his studies of language and literature at school, and self-published his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems, in 1827. In 1830, Poe embarked on a career as a writer and began contributing reviews and essays to popular periodicals. He also wrote sketches and short fiction, and in 1833 published his only completed novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. Over the next five years he established himself as a master of the short story form through the publication of "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and other well–known works. In 1841, he wrote "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," generally considered the first modern detective story. The publication of The Raven and Other Poems in 1845 brought him additional fame as a poet.