Top Ten Best Short Stories of all time in English

Short Stories are brief works of literature usually presented in narrative prose. Its history can be traced back to the oral storytelling traditions from the 17th century. It features a small set of characters and focuses deeply on a self-contained incident that evokes a single emotion or mood. It is longer than a anecdote, but shorter than a novel. Though short stories are a lot different from full-fledged novels, the authors of both use similar literary techniques. Many novelists have also made significant contributions to the world’s short story collection.

They do not have a set length or word count, just as in the case of an anecdote or a novel. It has been considered as a practice or apprenticeship that leads to much elaborate works of fiction. Mostly published as a collection in books of the same length and price of novels, short stories are often defined by writers as a form of artistic or personal expression and are versatile when it comes to genres.

The variety of languages and genres in which short stories are presented makes it quiet difficult to pin point the best among them. Furthermore, even short stories of the same language can be classified according to their country of publication. English short stories can be American, British, Indian or anywhere else from the world.

Here we have picked some of the most popular all time The best short stories of all time in English. So, If you are looking for Best American Short Stories ever or English Short Stories then this is a right place for you.



Top Ten Best Short Stories of all time in English

1. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The novella is one of the most popular and endearing Christmas stories ever written. It is a tale of redemption and features the life of bitter old Mr. Scrooge, who has shut out happiness from his life.

2. The Call of Cthulhu by H. P Lovecraft

The American classic published in the 20s explores the horrors of Cthulhu through secret cults, monsters and hidden clues. The narrator leaves us with these words: ”The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.”

3. Autopsy Room Four by Stephen King

King’s horror thriller was first published in ’97 and has since served as inspiration for the TV shows, music videos and short films. The tale is that of a paralyzed man who finds himself on the autopsy table.

4. Reginald by H. H Munro aka Saki

The master short story teller is famous for his satirical and humorous characters. Like all other Saki protagonists, Reginald is young, worldly, sophisticated, slightly decadent, a bit cruel, and extremely witty.

5. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber

One of Thurber’s most well known stories; Walter Mitty’s tale was first published in 1939. Mitty’s imaginary adventures also inspired a 1947 MGM Technicolor musical.

6. The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe

Published in 1846, the horror tale is set in a nameless Italian city and is about the narrator’s deadly revenge on a friend who had insulted him.

7. All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury

The sci-fi story is about the adventures of some school kids on Venus, which in the story is a world of rainstorms, visited by the sun only for 2 hours in every 7 years.

8. The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell

Published as “The Hounds of Zaroff” in 1924, the short story is Connell’s best-known work. The tale explores the adventures of a big-game hunter from New York and his African and South American safaris.

9. Metamorphosis by Kafka

First published in German in 1915, the novella is considered one of the seminal works of 20th century fiction and has found a place in college and University syllabus across the west.

10. Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

The 1905 sentimental story with a moral lesson explores the life of a young couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying Christmas gifts with very little money to spare.

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