Short Stories audiobooks

A Pair of Silk Stockings

By: Kate Chopin

Narrated by: Arielle DeLisle

Length: 11 minutes

Abridged: No

Kate Chopin is a widely considered a forerunner to the feminist authors of the twentieth century. Focusing on themes of race and gender, her short stories largely center on life in rural Louisiana. In "A Pair of Silk Stockings," a young woman unexpected finds herself with fifteen dollars. Inspired by her newfound wealth, she ignores her natural... Read more

Death and the Woman

By: Gertrude Atherton

Narrated by: Rachel Fulginiti

Length: 17 minutes

Abridged: No

Gertrude Atherton was a gothic novelist and short story writer. A prot├®g├®e of Ambrose Bierce, his influence can be seen in many of her stories, which often have overt references to the supernatural. In "Death and the Woman," a woman sits all alone in grief at her dying husband's side, waiting for Death to claim him. In the creepy, desolate... Read more

The Story of an Hour

By: Kate Chopin

Narrated by: Tish Hicks

Length: 9 minutes

Abridged: No

Kate Chopin is a widely considered the forerunner to the feminist authors of the twentieth century. Focusing on themes of race and gender, her short stories largely center on life in rural Louisiana. In "The Story of an Hour," Louise Mallard has just learned that her husband is dead—believed to have died during a train accident. Her family fears... Read more

Brown Wolf

By: Jack London

Narrated by: Adam Verner

Length: 38 minutes

Abridged: No

Jack London was one of the first fiction writers to achieve worldwide fame. Though he is best remembered for his novels The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set during the Klondike Gold Rush, his short stories are considered masterful. Here in "Brown Wolf," a couple living on a homestead in Northern California who take in a stray sled dog... Read more

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

By: Mark Twain

Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith

Length: 15 minutes

Abridged: No

Though known for his classic novels of adventure and coming of age, Mark Twain is equally esteemed for his short stories, which abound with the colorful characters and often comic antics readers have come to expect from his longer works. Included here is "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," a wild yarn involving a case of mistaken... Read more

The Necklace

By: Guy de Maupassant

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Length: 20 minutes

Abridged: No

A lesson on the power of vanity, "The Necklace" tells the story of Madame Mathilde Loisel and her husband. Mathilde always imagined herself as a socialite with beautiful gowns and wonderful jewels. Her husband, however, is a lowly clerk and the two have little money. Desperate to attend an important party, she borrows a friend's diamond necklace... Read more

Mad Hope

By: Heather Birrell

Narrated by: Tandy Cronyn, Erin Moon, Morgan Hallett & Graha...

Length: 8 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

In the stories of Mad Hope, Heather Birrell finds the heart of her characters and lets them lead us into worlds both unrecognizable and alarming. We think we know these people but discover we don't-they are more alive, more real, and more complex than we first imagined. A high school science teacher is forced to re-examine the role he played in... Read more

The Nice People

By: Henry Cuyler Bunner

Narrated by: Scott O’Neill

Length: 20 minutes

Abridged: No

Henry Culyer Bunner is considered a comedic genius of the short story form. Known for choosing distinctly American themes and characters, his stories are often seen as trivial, merely expanded anecdotes, yet they are so vitally treated that they grip and remain, and, often, lift and chasten. Here is "The Nice People," one of his best known... Read more

The Selfish Giant

By: Oscar Wilde

Narrated by: Diane Havens

Length: 11 minutes

Abridged: No

A perennial classic that is sure to inspire a new generation of parents and childrenAfter seven years, the Giant has nothing left to say to his friend, the Cornish ogre, and so he returns home to his castle—only to find that in his absence, the children have been playing in his beautiful garden.At once the selfish Giant builds a high wall to... Read more

The Lottery Ticket

By: Anton Chekhov

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Length: 14 minutes

Abridged: No

Considered one of the greatest short story writers of all time, Anton Chekhov heavily influenced the evolution of the modern short story. Most notably, he used a technique that would later be called "stream of consciousness," in which he eschewed the traditional story structure and simply wrote as though he was thinking aloud. Written in that... Read more

The Stone of Invisibility

By: Giovanni Boccaccio

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 14 minutes

Abridged: No

The most enduring work by the Renaissance humanist Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron is a collection of one hundred stories about ten young noblemen and noblewomen who escape the plague by moving to a country villa outside the Italian city of Florence. Highly influential, numerous writers have borrowed from Boccaccio's tales, including Edgar... Read more

Two Illuminating Stories

By: Mark Twain

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 23 minutes

Abridged: No

Though known for his classic novels of adventure and coming of age, Mark Twain is equally esteemed for his short stories, which abound with the colorful characters and often comic antics readers have come to expect from his longer works. Included here are two of his most beloved short stories: "The Story of the Bad Little Boy Who Didn't Come to... Read more

The Pit and the Pendulum

By: Edgar Allan Poe

Narrated by: Richard Powers

Length: 38 minutes

Abridged: No

Edgar Allen Poe is seen today as one of the greatest practitioners of gothic and detective fiction that ever lived, and popular culture is replete with references to him. In "The Pit and the Pendulum," one of his most famous short works, a condemned man is judged guilty by the Spanish Inquisition and sentenced to die. Locked away in a... Read more

Prince Bull

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir

Length: 17 minutes

Abridged: No

Charles Dickens created some of the world's most memorable fictional characters. Widely regarded as the greatest writer of the Victorian period, his novels and short stories continue to be widely popular today. One of his lesser known works, "Prince Bull" is the story of a powerful prince named Bull; his lovely wife called Fair Freedom; and... Read more

The Open Window

By: Hector Hugh Munro

Narrated by: Gary Dikeos

Length: 8 minutes

Abridged: No

Considered a master of the short story, Saki was best known for his witty and mischievous stories that satirized the culture and society of Edwardian England. In "The Open Window," his best-known vignette, a teenage girl regales the tale of an eerie family tragedy to a high-strung visitor, who receives something of a shock.Proceeds from sale of... Read more

Horrid Henry's Nightmare

By: Francesca Simon

Narrated by: Miranda Richardson

Length: 1 hour 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Four hilarious new HH stories - HH's Mother's Day, probably not the day his mum looks forward to most in the year, HH's Nightmare where Henry's chased by a ghost bunny with huge teeth, a wailing graveyard ghost and, for good measure, a slimy zombie, then a new story about one of his greatest enemies in The Return of the Demon Dinner lady and... Read more

A Society

By: Virginia Woolf

Narrated by: Jo Anna Perrin

Length: 36 minutes

Abridged: No

Known as one of the foremost modernist novelists of the twentieth century, Virginia Woolf also wrote several shorter works. In "A Society," one of her earlier short stories, a young woman receives a substantial inheritance from her father, on the condition that she reads all of the books in London Library. Distressed by the unsatisfactory... Read more

The Death of a Government Clerk

By: Anton Chekhov

Narrated by: David Drummond

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Considered one of the greatest short story writers of all time, Anton Chekhov heavily influenced the evolution of the modern short story. Most notably, he used a technique that would later be called "stream-of-consciousness," in which he eschewed the traditional story structure and simply wrote as though he was thinking aloud. Written in that... Read more

A Blackjack Bargainer

By: O. Henry

Narrated by: John Pruden

Length: 38 minutes

Abridged: No

O. Henry was a prolific American short-story writer—a master of surprise endings—who wrote about the life of ordinary people in New York City. Here is "A Blackjack Bargainer," the story of the drunken Yancey Goree, a washed-up lawyer who has lost his money, possessions, property, and self-respect as a result of playing poker. After settling a... Read more

Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad

By: M. R. James

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

Length: 53 minutes

Abridged: No

M. R. James was a prolific and hugely successful author, now credited with redefining the ghost story form. By abandoning many of the formal gothic clich├®s of his predecessors and using more contemporary settings, James set the stage for future generations of writers. Originally published in 1904, "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" is... Read more

Beyond Lies the Wub

By: Philip K. Dick

Narrated by: Mark Turetsky

Length: 21 minutes

Abridged: No

Published shortly after his high school graduation, "Beyond Lies the Wub" is the classic short story by science fiction master Philip K. Dick.Peterson, a crew member from a spaceship visiting Mars, purchases a giant, pig-like creature called a wub. Although Captain Franco means to make a meal of the strange beast, the wub proves to be likeable... Read more

The Death of a Soldier

By: Louisa May Alcott

Narrated by: Karen White

Length: 21 minutes

Abridged: No

Before Louisa May Alcott achieved national fame with Little Women, she received success and recognition for Hospital Sketches, which was published in 1863. The book is based on her experience as a Civil War nurse at a Union hospital in Georgetown. In "The Death of a Soldier," an excerpt from the fourth chapter, she recounts the final days of a... Read more

The Spectre Bridegroom

By: Washington Irving

Narrated by: Robert Fass

Length: 38 minutes

Abridged: No

The author of "The Legend of Sleepy Hallow" and "Rip Van Winkle," Washington Irving perfected the American short story. His stories were written in an approachable tone and intended to entertain rather than enlighten. Originally published in 1819, "The Spectre Bridegroom" is a ghost story about a baron and his daughter in historic Germany. The... Read more

Skip Tracer Bullets

By: Joe Archibald

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Length: 36 minutes

Abridged: No

Joe Archibald's pulp detective series features Willie Klump—a hapless private investigator who formerly worked for the prestigious Hawkeye Detective Agency—and his many misadventures. Here in "Skip Tracer Bullets," Willie is once again down on his luck. His fortunes change when a new case leads him to stolen diamonds … but Willie soon finds... Read more