The Top 10 Short Stories - The Classic Novelists: The top ten short stories written by classic novelists.

Written by Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Anthony Trollope and 7 more

Narrated by Ian Holm, Jim Norton and Laurel Lefkow

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.

These novelists burst with a literary energy that is hard to contain. They cover a myriad of styles and themes, narratives packed full of fully-formed characters in powerful tales that have become an essential and integral part of our literary heritage.

01 - The Top 10 - The Classic Novelists - An Introduction

02 - Transcendental Wild Oats by Louisa May Alcott

03 - The Signalman by Charles Dickens

04 - The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Fyodor Dostovesky

05 - Bernice Bobs Her Hair by F Scott Fitzgerald

06 - The Sexton's Hero by Elizabeth Gaskell

07 - The Dead by James Joyce

08 - How Much Land Does A Man Need by Leo Tolstoy

09 - Malachi's Cove by Anthony Trollope

10 - Eve's Diary by Mark Twain

11 - Kew Gardens by Virginia Woolf

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Copyright Group
• Release date: Jan 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781839679834

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was an English writer and social critic. Regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era, Dickens had a prolific collection of works including fifteen novels, five novellas, and hundreds of short stories and articles. The term “cliffhanger endings” was created because of his practice of ending his serial short stories with drama and suspense. Dickens’ political and social beliefs heavily shaped his literary work. He argued against capitalist beliefs, and advocated for children’s rights, education, and other social reforms. Dickens advocacy for such causes is apparent in his empathetic portrayal of lower classes in his famous works, such as The Christmas Carol and Hard Times.