The Top 10 Short Stories - The English: The top ten Short Stories of all time written by English authors

Written by Charles Dickens, George Eliot, D H Lawrence and 7 more

Narrated by Ian Holm, Nigel Lambert and Richard Mitchley

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.

An impossible choice. An endless feast of talents. Within these 10 stories are all the glory, the ambition and talent of authors that are now known and beloved by us all. Genius in every name.

01 - The Top Ten - The English - An Introduction

02 - The Signalman by Charles Dickens

03 - The Lifted Veil - Part 1 by George Eliot

04 - The Lifted Veil - Part 2 by George Eliot

05 - They by Rudyard Kipling

06 - An Unwritten Novel by Virginia Woolf

07 - The Mortal Immortal by Mary Shelley

08 - The Rocking Horse Winner by D H Lawrence

09 - The Interlopers by Saki the pseudonym for H H Munro

10 - The Informer by Joseph Conrad

11 - The Old Nurses Story by Elizabeth Gaskell

12 - The Fiddler of the Reels by Thomas Hardy

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Copyright Group
• Release date: Jan 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781803541792

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.