Other books that might interest you

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  Great Expectations

  Charles Dickens

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  Pip— the orphaned hero of Great Expectations— is one of Charles Dickens's best-loved characters. Young Philip Pirrip— nicknamed Pip— is apprenticed to his blacksmith brother-in-law, but an anonymous benefactor changes the boy' s future. After he is lifted to what seems a higher station in life, Pip shuns his kind friends and slips into debt. But as he matures, he progresses from thoughtless selfishness to humble industry.

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  Top 10 Short Stories The - The...

  Charles Dickens

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  Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart.  A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. 
   
  In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted ‘Top Tens’ across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author?  
   
  The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme.  Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature. 
   
  Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made.  If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something. 
   
  Many say one language dominates literature, and from there one Country – England.  The sceptered isle does indeed have more than its fair share of literary behemoths.  And this is only the men. 
   
  1 - The Top 10 - The English - The Men - An Introduction 
  2 - The Baron of Grogzwig by Charles Dickens 
  3 - Odour of Chrysanthemums by D H Lawrence 
  4 - The Magic Shop by H G Wells 
  5 - Father Giles of Ballymoy by Anthony Trollope 
  6 - The Salvation of a Forsythe - Part 1 by John Galsworthy 
  7 - The Salvation of a Forsythe - Part 2 by John Galsworthy 
  8 - The Interlopers by Saki the pseudonym for H H Munro 
  9 - The Matador of the Five Towns by Arnold Bennett 
  10 - Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You My Lad by M R James 
  11 - A Terribly Strange Bed by Wilkie Collins 
  12 - The House of Cobwebs by George Gissing

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  The Gambler

  Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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  Dive into the intense world of addiction and obsession with "The Gambler" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. This powerful narrative follows Alexei Ivanovich, a young tutor ensnared in the throes of gambling in a fictional German spa town. As he navigates high-stakes roulette tables, he becomes entangled in a web of unrequited love, financial ruin, and moral dilemmas. Dostoyevsky's insightful exploration of human psychology and the destructive allure of chance makes this novel a riveting study of compulsion and fate.

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  In the Avu Observatory (Unabridged)

  H. G. Wells

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  This early work by H. G. Wells was originally published in 1894. "In the Avu Observatory" is a short story of a man working in an observatory in Borneo who gets attacked by a strange bat-like creature.

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  Lost Hearts

  M. R. James

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  Title: The Damned Thing 
  Author: Ambrose Bierce 
  Narrator: Jonathan Dunne 
  Original Publication: 1893 
  Public Domain: Yes 
  Series Placement: Number 13 in the Timeless Terrors series 
  Description: 
  The Damned Thing by Ambrose Bierce is a chilling tale of the unseen and the unknown. First published in 1893 in Tales from New York Town Topics, it presents the strange account of a man’s violent death and the mysterious force believed to be responsible. 
  Told through a coroner’s inquest, the story unfolds in stark fragments—testimony, diary entries, and grim observation—revealing hints of an invisible creature that moves through the natural world, stalking its prey. Bierce masterfully blends psychological dread with cosmic horror, leaving readers to confront the terrifying possibility of forces beyond human perception. 
  This recording, narrated by Amazon bestselling horror author Jonathan Dunne, captures the eerie tension and stark fatalism that defines Bierce’s writing. While the text is in the public domain, this performance is an original work and copyright © 2025 Jonathan Dunne. 
  Listeners should be prepared for a haunting meditation on mortality, fear, and the unseen horrors that may lurk just beyond the reach of human senses.

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  Story of the Youth Who Went...

  Brothers Grimm

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  A father had two sons. The dimwitted younger son, when asked by his father what he would like to learn to support himself, said he would like to learn how to shudder (as in, learn to have fear). A sexton told the father that he could teach the boy. After teaching him to ring the church bell, he sent him one midnight to ring it and came after him, dressed as a ghost. The boy demanded an explanation. When the sexton did not answer, the boy, unafraid, pushed him down the stairs, breaking his leg.

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