Американская литература

"Ligeia" is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and first published in 1838. «Ligeia» is widely considered to be one of the top 100 greatest books of all time. The story follows an unnamed n…

Роман «Обнаженная в зеркале» (1953) – последнее и наиболее зрелое произведение известного американского писателя и поэта Джорджа Сильвестра Вирека (1884–1962), где, как в фокусе, собраны основные…

H. P. Lovecraft was one of the greatest horror writers of all time. His seminal work appeared in the pages of legendary Weird Tales and has influenced countless writer of the macabre. This is one…

A hilarious and cutting critique of what not to do, this deliciously wicked essay lays out what writers should and must do if they want their fiction to live and breathe ― as Twain's own fiction …

Written at the end of Twain's career, Extracts from Adam's Diary was first published in 1897. Twain's Adam was based on himself.

Typical Mark Twain slightly caustic, complex humor. Six of Mark Twain's recollections his early experiences in newspaper work on topics such as his first editorship at age 13, the weaponry needed…

The story projects Twain’s lifelong struggles with his conscience. Here the conscience admits to being the “most pitiless enemy” of its host, whom it is supposed to “improve” but only tyrannizes …

A great writing by Mark Twain based on the short story of classic humour.

"In Defense of Harriet Shelley" is an excellent literary classic for all ages. Twain took much of his ideas and inspiration for his stories and tall tales from real experiences as a river boat pi…

"On the Decay of the Art of Lyingis" a short essay written by Mark Twain in 1885 for a meeting of the Historical and Antiquarian Club of Hartford, Connecticut. In the essay, Twain laments the dou…

Written for the Atlantic magazine in 1877, this is a collection of stories about a trip Mark Twain made with some friends to Bermuda.

The book bears no relationship to Twain's actual life. The two short stories present fictional characters who are supposedly part of Twain's lineage.

"The Purloined Letter" is a short story by American author Edgar Allan Poe. It is the third of his three detective stories featuring the fictional C. Auguste Dupin, the other two being «The Murde…

"The Fall of the House of Usher" recounts the terrible events that befall the last remaining members of the once-illustrious Usher clan before it is―quite literally―rent asunder. With amazing eco…

The blackness of eternal night encompassed me. The intense darkness oppressed and stifled me so that I struggled for breath.Having been condemned to death by the Spanish Inquisition, the narrator…

"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in Graham's Magazine in 1841. It has been claimed as the first detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his «tal…

"The Mystery of Marie Rogêt", often subtitled A Sequel to «The Murders in the Rue Morgue», is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe written in 1842. This is the first murder mystery based on the detai…

"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe first published in 1843. It is told by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of his sanity, while describing a murder …

"The American Claimant" is a comedy of mistaken identities and multiple role switches―fertile and familiar Mark Twain territory. Its cast of characters include an American enamored of British her…

Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is sometimes considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre.…