Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The World's Best Classic Short Stories

By: O. Henry, Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, Saki, Kate Chopin, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling
Narrated by: Cathy Dobson
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $38.00

Buy for $38.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

A glittering collection of some of the world's finest short stories, including:

  • 'The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
  • 'The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant
  • 'The Mezzotint' by M. R. James
  • 'The Phantom Rickshaw' by Rudyard Kipling
  • 'The Withered Arm' by Thomas Hardy
  • 'The Model Millionaire' by Oscar Wilde
  • 'The Monkey’s Paw' by W. W. Jacobs
  • 'An Uncomfortable Bed' by Guy de Maupassant
  • 'The Mortal Immortal' by Mary Shelley
  • 'The Black Cat' by Edgar Allan Poe
  • 'Sredni Vashtar' by Saki
  • 'The Nose' by Nicolai Gogol
  • 'Regret' by Kate Chopin
  • 'One Thousand Dollars' by O. Henry
  • 'The Fly' by Katherine Mansfield
  • 'A Descent into the Maelström' by Edgar Allan Poe
  • 'The Sphinx Without a Secret' by Oscar Wilde
  • 'The Inconsiderate' Waiter by J. M. Barrie
  • 'The Black Poodle' by F. Anstey
  • 'The Quest' by Saki
  • 'The Three Strangers' by Thomas Hardy
  • 'Oil of Dog' by Ambrose Bierce
  • 'The Oval Portrait' by Edgar Allan Poe
  • 'Markheim' by Robert Louis Stevenson
  • 'Fear' by Guy de Maupassant
  • 'The Belated Russian Passport' by Mark Twain
  • 'The Changeling' by W. W. Jacobs
  • 'The Pit and the Pendulum' by Edgar Allan Poe
  • 'The Eyes of the Panther' by Ambrose Bierce
  • 'The Dead' by James Joyce
  • 'The Secret Sharer' by Joseph Conrad
  • 'The Story of an Hour' by Kate Chopin
  • 'The Telltale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe
  • 'My Favorite Murder' by Ambrose Bierce
  • 'The Premature Burial' by Edgar Allan Poe
  • 'Tobermory' by Saki
  • 'Memoirs of a Yellow Dog' by O. Henry.
  • Public Domain (P)2013 Red Door Audiobooks
    activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

    What listeners say about The World's Best Classic Short Stories

    Average customer ratings
    Overall
    • 3 out of 5 stars
    • 5 Stars
      19
    • 4 Stars
      11
    • 3 Stars
      11
    • 2 Stars
      11
    • 1 Stars
      13
    Performance
    • 3 out of 5 stars
    • 5 Stars
      17
    • 4 Stars
      8
    • 3 Stars
      10
    • 2 Stars
      9
    • 1 Stars
      19
    Story
    • 3.5 out of 5 stars
    • 5 Stars
      27
    • 4 Stars
      10
    • 3 Stars
      13
    • 2 Stars
      1
    • 1 Stars
      10

    Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

    Sort by:
    Filter by:
    • Overall
      3 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      3 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      3 out of 5 stars

    This is a collection of old and stodgy stories.

    To make matters worse, however, there are no titles listed on the player, so you need to sample 5 or 6 different stories before you find the one you're looking for, and only then, because you've managed to find the list of stories on the main order page. Some stories are told in one piece, others are told in as many as five separate "chapters." In other words, whoever put this together didn't care about the listener. Performances are often old and stodgy, as well. It's not something most people would enjoy these days, except perhaps by a few elitist snobs.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    1 person found this helpful

    • Overall
      2 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      1 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      5 out of 5 stars

    I just can't listen to this narrator

    I love these stories but just I could not bear this narrator. I tried - I really tried.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    18 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      2 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      1 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      5 out of 5 stars

    Really Wanted to Like This

    As others have said, unfortunately the narrator’s voice is so annoying I can’t listen to the stories. I really wanted to hear these but it’s not worth it.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    • Overall
      3 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      2 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      5 out of 5 stars

    No chapter titles.

    Great stories but the chapters should have titles so that you can easily access the story you want to hear.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    1 person found this helpful

    • Overall
      2 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      2 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      5 out of 5 stars

    Tough listen

    The content appeals to me greatly. I just didn't like listening to the reader. It didn't seem genuine to me.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    4 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      3 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      1 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      3 out of 5 stars

    Narration is annoying

    The sing-song voice of the British narrator was fine for the first story or so but was highly annoying in its sameness over time.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    9 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      5 out of 5 stars

    Wonderful group of short stories

    A wonderful group of intriguing short stories, written by world class authors and performed with great enthusiasm which one can enjoy anytime.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    12 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      1 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      1 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      1 out of 5 stars

    Terrible Narration . . .

    I wish I had read the other reviews before purchasing this as I love short stories. Also there are no chapter titles and the narrator does not announce the author's name for each story either.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    4 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      1 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      1 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      1 out of 5 stars

    Bad Recording

    I couldn’t even listen to it, I do t know if it was my connection or just a bad recording.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    • Overall
      1 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      1 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      1 out of 5 stars

    Awful narrator, sorry!

    Can't listen to more than 5 minutes at a time because of the narrator. Just awful. Such a shame.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!