MORE BETWEEN THE COVERS
Collections
More than one great story between two covers. Explore Masterpieces and other curated multi-story volumes.
10 editions to explore
Multi-story collection
Guy de Maupassant
Paris unmasks desire
Estimated reading time: 95–120 minutesWhole collection · stories only
Inside · 10 stories
Stories in this collection
10 stories
- The NecklaceA borrowed jewel offers a clerk’s wife one dazzling evening in the world she longs to enter.
- The False GemsA husband’s certainty about his happy marriage is disturbed by his wife’s apparently inexpensive jewelry.
- The RendezvousA woman on her way to meet her lover finds a spring afternoon full of tempting reasons to delay.
- The DoweryA newly married couple’s trip to Paris exposes the uneasy relationship between affection and money.
- The UmbrellaA damaged umbrella turns household thrift into a determined battle over an insurance claim.
- An Adventure in ParisA provincial woman visits Paris hoping to experience the glamorous life she has imagined from afar.
- A SoireeA music-loving provincial notary follows his artistic ambitions into an unpredictable Parisian evening.
- Waiter, A ‘Bock’A chance meeting in a café prompts a withdrawn acquaintance to explain why he has turned away from life.
- TombstonesA Parisian recounts a cemetery encounter that makes the performance of mourning difficult to read.
- The MustacheA woman’s letter turns a missing mustache into a playful argument about attraction, memory and appearances.
“She had no dresses, no jewels, nothing.”
A question to savor
Across these stories, when does the desire to impress other people become a trap?
Multi-story collection
Anton Chekhov
Comfort conceals confinement
Estimated reading time: 54–68 minutesWhole collection · stories only
Inside · 3 stories
Stories in this collection
3 stories
- The Man in a CaseA teacher’s fear of everything outside the rules casts a long shadow over his community.
- GooseberriesA country visit leads a narrator to question the comfort of a happiness built on ignoring other people.
- About LoveA landowner recalls a love constrained by duty, hesitation and the lives already arranged around it.
“Once a man is absorbed by an idea there is no doing anything with him.”
A question to savor
What do these three stories suggest we lose when we make safety and comfort our highest priorities?
Multi-story collection
O. Henry
Ordinary lives surprise
Estimated reading time: 120–150 minutesWhole collection · stories only
Inside · 11 stories
Stories in this collection
11 stories
- The Gift of the MagiTwo newlyweds with very little money search for Christmas gifts worthy of their love.
- The Cop and the AnthemA homeless man plans a winter in jail, but getting arrested proves surprisingly difficult.
- Memoirs of a Yellow DogA pampered dog offers a distinctly canine assessment of the humans who claim to own him.
- The Romance of a Busy BrokerA frantic morning on Wall Street leaves a broker struggling to make room for romance.
- A Retrieved ReformationA gifted safecracker tries to begin again, until an emergency makes his old skills urgently necessary.
- After Twenty YearsTwo friends keep a long-standing appointment on a New York street, with much left unsaid between them.
- The Last LeafA sick young artist ties her hopes to the leaves outside her window while her neighbors watch anxiously.
- An Unfinished StoryA poorly paid shopgirl weighs the promise of an evening out against the price of accepting it.
- The Caballero’s WayA dangerous outlaw’s romance becomes a contest of jealousy, pursuit and calculated deception.
- The Duplicity of HargravesAn actor’s talent for imitation unsettles a proud Southern gentleman living far from home.
- The Ransom of Red ChiefTwo kidnappers discover that their young captive has very different ideas about who is in charge.
“One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.”
A question to savor
Which reversal changes your judgment of a character most, and why?
Multi-story collection
Edgar Allan Poe
Obsession shadows reason
Estimated reading time: 213–266 minutesWhole collection · stories only
Inside · 10 stories
Stories in this collection
10 stories
- The Tell-Tale HeartA narrator insists on his sanity while an old man’s eye becomes an intolerable obsession.
- The Cask of AmontilladoA promised taste of rare wine draws an unsuspecting rival into the family catacombs.
- The Black CatA household pet becomes entangled in a narrator’s escalating cruelty and attempts to explain himself.
- The Masque of the Red DeathA prince throws a lavish masked ball while a deadly plague rages beyond his walls.
- The Fall of the House of UsherA visitor enters a decaying mansion where a family’s fears seem to inhabit the building itself.
- William WilsonA young man finds his reckless life shadowed by a double who refuses to leave him alone.
- The Murders in the Rue MorgueAn apparently impossible crime gives the observant C. Auguste Dupin a mystery to untangle.
- The Facts in the Case of M. ValdemarAn experiment in mesmerism tests the boundary between the final breath and what might follow.
- Hop-FrogA court entertainer and his companion face a king whose appetite for jokes has a cruel edge.
- The Pit and the PendulumA condemned prisoner must read the dangers of a dark cell as each new terror changes the rules.
“You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing.”
A question to savor
Which narrator most unsettles your trust, and what creates that uncertainty?
Multi-story collection
Anton Chekhov
Ordinary lives exposed
Estimated reading time: 134–168 minutesWhole collection · stories only
Inside · 10 stories
Stories in this collection
10 stories
- The Death of a Government ClerkOne accidental sneeze sends an anxious clerk into an increasingly desperate campaign of apologies.
- The Lottery TicketThe possibility of a windfall lets a married couple imagine lives they have never confessed to wanting.
- The BetA banker and a young lawyer stake years of freedom on an argument about punishment and the value of life.
- The SchoolmistressA teacher’s weary journey home opens a glimpse of the life she might have lived.
- A Dead BodyTwo peasants guarding a corpse find that an ordinary night can unsettle the living.
- MiseryA cab driver grieving for his son searches the busy city for someone willing to listen.
- VankaA lonely young apprentice writes a Christmas letter asking his grandfather to bring him home.
- The Lady with the DogA seaside affair unsettles two married people who expected their encounter to remain a holiday diversion.
- The KissAn unexpected kiss in a dark room transforms a shy officer’s imagination and expectations.
- The DarlingA woman gives herself so completely to those she loves that her own opinions become difficult to find.
“How could they be free from this intolerable bondage?”
A question to savor
Which small gesture tells you most about a character's unspoken hopes?
Multi-story collection
Guy de Maupassant
Appearances deceive everyone
Estimated reading time: 152–190 minutesWhole collection · stories only
Inside · 8 stories
Stories in this collection
8 stories
- The NecklaceA borrowed jewel offers a clerk’s wife one dazzling evening in the world she longs to enter.
- The False GemsA husband’s certainty about his happy marriage is disturbed by his wife’s apparently inexpensive jewelry.
- Boule de SuifStranded travelers test the generosity of a woman they consider beneath them during the Franco-Prussian War.
- Two FriendsTwo fishing companions try to reclaim a familiar pleasure while Paris is under siege.
- Mademoiselle FifiAn occupying officer’s contempt turns an evening’s entertainment into a confrontation with unexpected courage.
- Miss HarrietA painter recalls an English traveler whose reserve conceals a fierce and lonely emotional life.
- The Piece of StringA thrifty peasant picks up a scrap of string and discovers how stubborn a rumor can become.
- MoonlightA stern priest’s certainties meet their challenge during a moonlit walk through the countryside.
“She had no dresses, no jewels, nothing.”
A question to savor
Which story most changes your understanding of the difference between social standing and character?
Multi-story collection
O. Henry
Ordinary lives surprise
True Large Print · 18-point type
Estimated reading time: 111–138 minutesWhole collection · stories only
Inside · 11 stories
Stories in this collection
11 stories
- The Gift of the MagiTwo newlyweds with very little money search for Christmas gifts worthy of their love.
- The Cop and the AnthemA homeless man plans a winter in jail, but getting arrested proves surprisingly difficult.
- Memoirs of a Yellow DogA pampered dog offers a distinctly canine assessment of the humans who claim to own him.
- The Romance of a Busy BrokerA frantic morning on Wall Street leaves a broker struggling to make room for romance.
- A Retrieved ReformationA gifted safecracker tries to begin again, until an emergency makes his old skills urgently necessary.
- After Twenty YearsTwo friends keep a long-standing appointment on a New York street, with much left unsaid between them.
- The Last LeafA sick young artist ties her hopes to the leaves outside her window while her neighbors watch anxiously.
- An Unfinished StoryA poorly paid shopgirl weighs the promise of an evening out against the price of accepting it.
- The Caballero’s WayA dangerous outlaw’s romance becomes a contest of jealousy, pursuit and calculated deception.
- The Furnished RoomA young man searching New York for a missing woman rents a room that seems to retain traces of her presence.
- The Ransom of Red ChiefTwo kidnappers discover that their young captive has very different ideas about who is in charge.
“One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all.”
A question to savor
Which reversal changes your judgment of a character most, and why?
Multi-story collection
Guy de Maupassant
Paris unmasks desire
True Large Print · 18-point type
Estimated reading time: 95–120 minutesWhole collection · stories only
Inside · 10 stories
Stories in this collection
10 stories
- The NecklaceA borrowed jewel offers a clerk’s wife one dazzling evening in the world she longs to enter.
- The False GemsA husband’s certainty about his happy marriage is disturbed by his wife’s apparently inexpensive jewelry.
- The RendezvousA woman on her way to meet her lover finds a spring afternoon full of tempting reasons to delay.
- The DoweryA newly married couple’s trip to Paris exposes the uneasy relationship between affection and money.
- The UmbrellaA damaged umbrella turns household thrift into a determined battle over an insurance claim.
- An Adventure in ParisA provincial woman visits Paris hoping to experience the glamorous life she has imagined from afar.
- A SoireeA music-loving provincial notary follows his artistic ambitions into an unpredictable Parisian evening.
- Waiter, A ‘Bock’A chance meeting in a café prompts a withdrawn acquaintance to explain why he has turned away from life.
- TombstonesA Parisian recounts a cemetery encounter that makes the performance of mourning difficult to read.
- The MustacheA woman’s letter turns a missing mustache into a playful argument about attraction, memory and appearances.
“She had no dresses, no jewels, nothing.”
A question to savor
Across these stories, when does the desire to impress other people become a trap?
Multi-story collection
James Joyce
Familiar lives awaken
True Large Print · 18-point type
Estimated reading time: 271–338 minutesWhole collection · stories only
Inside · 15 stories
Stories in this collection
15 stories
- The SistersA boy tries to understand the death of a priest and the unsettling fragments adults leave unexplained.
- An EncounterTwo schoolboys escape the classroom in search of adventure and meet a disturbing stranger.
- ArabyA boy invests a trip to a bazaar with the promise of romance and a larger world.
- EvelineA young woman weighs the possibility of escape against the claims of home, duty and memory.
- After the RaceA young Dubliner joins wealthy international companions for an exhilarating evening of money and display.
- Two GallantsTwo men’s talk of romance reveals a harsher economy of favors, manipulation and need.
- The Boarding HouseA landlady considers how to turn a relationship under her roof into a respectable arrangement.
- A Little CloudA reunion with a successful friend leaves a clerk measuring his domestic life against his literary ambitions.
- CounterpartsA humiliated office worker carries his frustration through an evening of drinking and back into his home.
- ClayA quiet woman’s Halloween visit exposes the small rituals and silences surrounding her place in other people’s lives.
- A Painful CaseA solitary man’s brief friendship returns to trouble the order he has made of his life.
- Ivy Day in the Committee RoomElection workers talk politics, loyalty and disappointment while waiting for the day to pass.
- A MotherA determined mother’s efforts to protect her daughter’s musical engagement collide with unreliable organizers.
- GraceFriends propose a spiritual fresh start for a man whose drinking has brought him to an embarrassing fall.
- The DeadA winter party brings Gabriel Conroy face to face with the private depths of a familiar life.
“Lily, the caretaker’s daughter, was literally run off her feet.”
A question to savor
Across these Dublin lives, what makes a moment of recognition lead to change—or fail to?
Multi-story collection
James Joyce
Ordinary lives awaken
Estimated reading time: 271–338 minutesWhole collection · stories only
Inside · 15 stories
Stories in this collection
15 stories
- The SistersA boy tries to understand the death of a priest and the unsettling fragments adults leave unexplained.
- An EncounterTwo schoolboys escape the classroom in search of adventure and meet a disturbing stranger.
- ArabyA boy invests a trip to a bazaar with the promise of romance and a larger world.
- EvelineA young woman weighs the possibility of escape against the claims of home, duty and memory.
- After the RaceA young Dubliner joins wealthy international companions for an exhilarating evening of money and display.
- Two GallantsTwo men’s talk of romance reveals a harsher economy of favors, manipulation and need.
- The Boarding HouseA landlady considers how to turn a relationship under her roof into a respectable arrangement.
- A Little CloudA reunion with a successful friend leaves a clerk measuring his domestic life against his literary ambitions.
- CounterpartsA humiliated office worker carries his frustration through an evening of drinking and back into his home.
- ClayA quiet woman’s Halloween visit exposes the small rituals and silences surrounding her place in other people’s lives.
- A Painful CaseA solitary man’s brief friendship returns to trouble the order he has made of his life.
- Ivy Day in the Committee RoomElection workers talk politics, loyalty and disappointment while waiting for the day to pass.
- A MotherA determined mother’s efforts to protect her daughter’s musical engagement collide with unreliable organizers.
- GraceFriends propose a spiritual fresh start for a man whose drinking has brought him to an embarrassing fall.
- The DeadA winter party brings Gabriel Conroy face to face with the private depths of a familiar life.
“Lily, the caretaker’s daughter, was literally run off her feet.”
A question to savor
Which moment of recognition in these stories feels most like something you have avoided knowing?
Edition links open Amazon. Standard and Large Print editions are listed separately.
Explore the stacks ↗GOOD STORIES. BETTER TOGETHER.
Read with us.
Discover a free classic story every month. Find a favorite, then pass it along.
