Inspired by an account in The Broadway Journal of a surgeon putting a patient into an magnetic sleep, The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar is a suspenseful tale concerning the forestallment of death by hypnosis. Originally published without a clear indication of its fictionality, the story was assumed to be a true account by some of its original readers.
First published in a 1846 edition of Godey's Lady's Book, The Cask of Amontillado is widely considered to be one of the most perfect short stories ever written. Told by the unreliable narrator Montresor-a man who sought vengeance against his acquaintance for an insult that the reader is not privy to-the story details how Montresor accomplished his revenge.
First published in a 1843 edition of The Saturday Evening Post, The Black Cat tells the story of a man and his increasingly antagonistic relationship with his cat. Akin to The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado, The Black Cat investigates the psychological effects of guilt as well as the potentially destructive and violent consequences of alcoholism.
First published in a 1849 edition of The Flag of Our Union, Hop-Frog is a revenge tale akin to The Cask of Amontillado. Told from the perspective of a crippled jester who was taken from his homeland and has been abused by the king he serves, the story focuses on the revenge Hop-Frog takes after the king strikes his fellow countrywoman and performer, the dancer Trippetta.
Siddhartha, the ninth book written by Hermann Hesse, is about a young Indian boy who leaves his home in hopes of finding enlightenment with the wise Goutama, which in this story is the Buddha. After learning what he can from Goutama, he decides to go off into the busy city, and leads a life of greed and lust. When he realizes that the lifestyle is not fulfilling, and he reflects on his life, he goes to a river and contemplates suicide. However, it is here that Siddhartha meets a man who will change his life and help lead him to enlightenment, in this classic coming of age story about finding meaning and purpose.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is a humorous 1889 novel by American writer Mark Twain. In it, a Connecticut engineer is accidentally transported back to the time of King Arthur. He convinces the inhabitants of that time that he is a magician, and uses his knowledge of modern technology to stun them with such feats as demolitions, fireworks, and the shoring up of a holy well. Twain wrote the book as a satire of Romantic notions of chivalry after a dream in which he was a knight himself, noting the inconvenient weight of the armor.
Candide is a French satirical novella first published in 1759 by Voltaire. It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life and being indoctrinated in “optimism” by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt finish of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow, painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. It concludes with Candide advocating a deeply practical precept, we must cultivate our garden, in lieu of the professor’s earlier mantra, all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds. Candide is recognized as Voltaire's magnum opus and is often listed as part of the Western canon; it is among the most frequently taught works of French literature.
In The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, Violet Hunter asks Holmes, whether she should accept a job with very strange conditions. She has been offered £120 per year as a governess, but only if she will cut her long hair short. This is only one of many peculiar conditions to which she must agree. The employer, Jephro Rucastle, seems pleasant enough, yet Miss Hunter obviously has her suspicions. After a fortnight, Miss Hunter beseeches Holmes to come and see her in Winchester, as the situation has become even stranger. This is the last of the twelve stories collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
In The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet, a banker, Mr. Alexander Holder, makes a loan of £50,000 to a socially prominent client, who leaves a beryl coronet – one of the most valuable public possessions in existence – as collateral. Feeling that he must not leave this rare and precious piece of jewelry in his personal safe at the bank, he takes it home with him. Awakened by a noise in the night, he is horrified to see his son playing with the coronet and apparently trying to bend it. Three beryls are now missing from it. In a panic, Mr. Holder travels to see Holmes, who agrees to take the case.
In The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor, Miss Hatty Doran, after several strange episodes on the day of her marriage to Lord St. Simon, disappears from the reception. St. Simon tells Holmes that he noticed a change in the young lady's mood just after the wedding ceremony, having been uncharacteristically sharp with him. Also unusual: she dropped her wedding bouquet and a gentleman in the front pew handed it back to her. For Holmes, it proves rather an elementary case, though it causes considerable confusion for Dr. Watson and Inspector Lestrade. This is the tenth of the twelve stories collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.