Mystery

The Murders in the Rue Morgue

Post category:Novelettes

The Murders in the Rue Morgue: Short story by Edgar Allan Poe Written in 1841, this rather unlikely story by Edgar Allan Poe is considered one of the world’s first modern detective stories. In a seemingly insoluble locked-room mystery, the wrong man is arrested for the violent murder of two women. In an effort to find the truth, Poe’s amateur detective Dupin demonstrates the importance of “mental analysis” in problem solving and, in the process, shows how an “Ourang-Outang” was able to make a monkey out of the police. Themes include ingenuity (inventiveness) vs. mental analysis (critical thinking), violence, the pursuit of truth, justice.

A Scandal in Bohemia

Post category:Novelettes

A Scandal in Bohemia: Short story by Arthur Conan Doyle This is the first of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes short stories. The hereditary King of Bohemia hires Holmes to retrieve (steal!) photographic evidence of a scandalous affair. Uncharacteristically, the great detective underestimates the jilted woman and is unable to complete the assignment. Rather than displaying frustration or anger, Holmes is smitten… not with love, but with admiration for her intellect. Themes: philandering, class, sexism, deception, underestimating one’s foe, respect. Some say that Holmes’s esteem for Adler suggests a feminist theme. However, as Watson says, she is the woman; the only one he ever regards so highly.

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Approximate Reading Times

Quick Read: under 5 minutes
Short Story: 5 to 30 minutes
Novelette: 30 to 90 minutes
Novella: 1.5 to 2.5 hours

Other stories you may like:

Here’s Your Hat What’s Your Hurry
Short Story by Elizabeth McCracken. A homeless woman with no family has spent her life traveling the countryside and staying at the homes of people she says are distant relatives. When a visit with a young couple ends, she considers taking a neglected boy living nearby with her.
Born Worker
Grade 7-8 Story by Gary Soto. A teenage boy is lured into an odd-job partnership by a fast-talking cousin. He learns that there are people like himself who find honor in honest hard work, and those like his cousin, prepared to lie and cheat to get a “free ride”.
The Little Match Seller
Grade 5-6 Story by Hans Christian Andersen. A cruel father sends his little girl out into the snow to sell matches. She crouches between two buildings, afraid to go home because she hasn’t made any sales. A vision of her beloved grandmother appears to take her to a better place.
The Drummer Boy of Shiloh
Short Story by Ray Bradbury. A drummer boy who has no gun or means of protecting himself is very frightened on the night before his first battle. A talk with is commanding general teaches him that his drum may be one of the most effective weapons in the army
The True Story of Kanakapala, Protector of Gold
Short Story by Raja Rao. A tale spanning three generations about Kanakapala, a huge cobra that guarded a buried treasure bestowed upon Lord Shiva and the goddess Vishalakshi. The loyal serpent literally “met its end” when its powers proved ineffective against rogue descendants of the treasure’s donor.

The Eskimo Connection
Short Story by Hisaye Yamamoto. A pen-pal relationship develops between a Japanese-American widow and a young Eskimo jailed in a federal penitentiary. Thanks to her experiences in a wartime internment camp, she empathises with the man, naively overlooking hints the he may have a capacity for extreme violence.
Oysters
Quick Read by Anton Chekhov. A young boy, weak from hunger, sees a sign advertising oysters. He doesn’t know what they look like, and imagines himself eating creatures half-way between a crab and a frog. Two rich “gentlemen” have a good laugh when they introduce him to the real thing
Parker’s Back
Novelette by Flanery O’Connor. A simple minded, poorly educated farm worker is selfish, doesn’t believe in God, and says he hates his wife. His one love is tattoos, which he believes express his manhood. Through his last tattoo, he finds grace. Unfortunately, his fundamentalist wife spoils the experience.
Roman Fever
Short Story by Edith Wharton. Two American widows, lifelong friends, meet up in Rome. The pair have been measuring themselves against each other for most of their lives. In an effort to hurt the other, one of them reveals a cruel secret from the past. In the shattering conclusion, an even crueler secret is thrown back at her.
Customs
Young Adult Story by Julia Alvarez. A Dominican American college student makes her annual trip home. Although most Dominican youth cling to the old ways, she finds a kindred anti-establishment spirit in her father’s young chauffeur. A disastrous camping trip proves that she still has some outdated ways of thinking.