The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
Author: Mark TwainCharacters: SmileyAngel's Mining Camp's tavern.
Smiley makes a bet with an old horse and dog
Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses
Author: Mark TwainSummary: Written as entertainment but to inform readers that at the time there are better ways to write such literary pieces.
The Luck of Roaring Camp
Author: Bret HarteCharacters: Cherokee Sal, Slumpy, Kentuck, Tommy "Luck"Summary: The only woman in a mining camp dies during childbirth leaving a baby boy. Slumpy is elected to raise the baby and the town is changed morally. A flood whisks away the town and the baby dies in Kentuck's arms.
Miggles
Author: Bret HarteCharacters: Miggles, Judge, Jim Summary: Eight men approach an abandoned house to use for temporary lodging. Inside, Miggles, an attractive woman with the immoral past as a prostitute, is taking care of Jim, a stroke victim. ("Golden Heart")
Tennessee's Partner
Author: Bret HarteCharacters: Tennessee, Tennessee's partnerSummary: Tennessee finds a wife at a California restaurant, but she soon runs off with another man. Tennessee dies of a broken heart. His partner buries him and they later meet again in Heaven.
An Occurrence on Owl Creek Bridge
Author: Ambrose Bierce Characters: Peyton Farquhar, wife,
Chickamauga
Author: Ambrose BierceSummary: A run away child is lost and thinks it's comical and tries to play "war" with the soldiers in a battlefield. He finds his way home and notices his house is burning down and his mother had been shot. The child is deaf.
Editha
Author: W.
D. HowellsCharacters: Editha, GeorgeSummary: Looking for a melodramatic relationship, Editha pushes her husband to war in order to have the "hero" she's always dreamed of. George dies in war.
The Storm
Author: Kate ChopinCharacters: Calixta, AlceeSummary: A storm begins and Calixta's family is separated before an old lover arrives. Being trapped together, Calixta has a secret affair and her family benefits.
Desiree's Baby
Author: Kate ChopinCharacters: Madame Valmonde, Desiree, Armand AubignySummary: Due to abandonment after birth, there is much confusion about Desiree and her husband's baby's racial heritage.
The Story of an Hour
Author: Kate ChopinCharacters: Mrs. Mallard, BrentleySummary: Finding out her husband was killed in a train wreck, Mrs. Mallard is strangely content until her husband returns home.
Roman Fever
Author: Edith WhartonCharacters: Grace Ansley, Alida Slade, Barbara Ansley, Jenny SladeSummary: Mothers, Grace and Alida, are on vacation in Rome with their two daughters, Barbara and Jenny.
The Other Two
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Daisy Miller: A Study
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A New England Nun
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The Revolt of 'Mother'
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