Public-domain ebook

The best short stories of 1925, and the yearbook of the American short story

Language: en6,142 downloads on Project Gutenberg

Subjects

Short stories, American American fiction -- 20th century Short stories -- 20th century -- Bibliography Short stories -- 20th century -- Indexes

Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #77328.

About this book

The volume is a dual‑purpose compilation that gathers the most noteworthy American short stories published between October 1924 and September 1925, alongside a comprehensive “yearbook” of the short‑story form for that period. The editor’s introductory essay explains the selection criteria, substance and form, assigning asterisks to indicate the degree of artistic achievement, and it provides extensive indexes, biographical rolls, and statistical tables that map the landscape of contemporary magazine fiction. The anthology opens with Sandra Alexander’s “The Gift,” a vivid rural vignette that sets the tone for a collection drawn from such periodicals as The Century Magazine, Harper’s, The Atlantic Monthly, Collier’s, and The Dial. The stories are presented alphabetically by author, each accompanied by its original publication source, while the yearbook sections follow, offering scholars a detailed reference to the era’s short‑story output.

The tone of the book is scholarly yet readable, reflecting the early‑twentieth‑century literary criticism of its editor, Edward J. O’Brien. Its prose is formal, with an emphasis on the moral and artistic purpose of American fiction, and the stories themselves range from the lyrical to the gritty, embodying the period’s experimental yet accessible style. Readers who relish historic literary surveys, students of American modernism, or anyone interested in the evolution of the short story as a distinct American art form will find this anthology both a valuable reference and a rewarding reading experience.

The opening · free to read

To the Editors of The Boston Evening Transcript, The Reviewer, The Century Magazine, The Pictorial Review, Harper’s Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, Liberty, Collier’s Weekly, and The Dial; and to Messrs. Harcourt, Brace, and Company, Messrs. Boni and Liveright, Inc., Miss Sandra Alexander, Mr. Sherwood Anderson, Mr. Nathan Asch, Mr. Barry Benefield, Mr. Konrad Bercovici, Miss Bella Cohen, Mr. Charles Caldwell Dobie, Mr. Rudolph Fisher, Mrs. Katharine Fullerton Gerould, Mr. Walter Gilkyson, Mr. Manuel Komroff, Mr. Ring W. Lardner, Mr. Robert Robinson, Miss Evelyn Scott, Miss May Stanley, Mr. Wilbur Daniel Steele, Mr. Milton Waldman, Mr. Glenway Wescott, Miss Barrett Willoughby, and Mrs. Elinor Wylie.

I wish to make particular acknowledgments for editorial assistance to Mrs. W. J. Turner, Miss Katharine Macdonald, and Mr. Francis J. Hannigan.

In dedicating the present volume to my wife, I wish to record her invaluable coöperation in making this volume, as well as “The Best British Short Stories of 1925,” less faulty than it otherwise might have been during my prolonged illness last summer.

I shall be grateful to my readers for corrections, and particularly for suggestions leading to the wider usefulness of these annual volumes. In particular, I shall welcome the receipt from authors, editors and publishers, of stories printed during the period between October, 1924, and September, 1925, inclusive, which have qualities of distinction and yet are not printed in periodicals falling under my regular attention.