Best American Humorous Short Stories
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Narrated by:
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Stephanye Dussud
About this listen
Eighteen of the very best American short stories, each a classic in its own right.
Stories include "The Little Frenchman and his Water Lots", by George Pope Morris; "The Angel of the Odd", by Edgar Allan Poe; "The Schoolmasters’s Progress", by Caroline M.S. Kirkland; "The Watkinson Evening", by Eliza Leslie; "Titbottom’s Spectacles", by George William Curtis; "My Double and "How He Undid Me", by Edward Everett Hale; "A Visit to the Asylum for Aged and Decayed Punsters", by Oliver Wendell Holmes; "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", by Mark Twain; "Elder Brown’s Backslide", by Harry Stillwell Edwards; "The Hotel Experience of Mr. Pink Fluker", by Richard Malcolm Johnston; "The Nice People", by Henry Cuyler Bunner; "The Buller-Podington Compact", by Frank Richard Stockton; "Colonel Starbottle for the Plaintiff", by Bret Harte; "The Duplicity of Hargraves", by O. Henry; "Bargain Day at Tutt House", by George Randolph Chester; "A Call", by Grace MacCowan Cooke; "How the Widow Won the Deacon", by William James Lampton; and "Gideon", by Wells Hastings.
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- By Diane on 10-16-12
By: Edith Wharton
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Mark Twain - The Complete Novels
- By: Mark Twain
- Narrated by: Lee Howard
- Length: 58 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Here you will find the complete novels of Mark Twain: 1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Starts at Chapter 1, 2. The Prince and the Pauper Starts at Chapter 37, 3. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Starts at Chapter 70, 4. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court Starts at Chapter 113, 5. The American Claimant Starts at Chapter 158, 6. Tom Sawyer Abroad Starts at Chapter 184, 7. Pudd'nhead Wilson Starts at Chapter 197, 8. Tom Sawyer, Detective Starts at Chapter 219, 9. A Horse's Tale Starts at Chapter 230, 10. The Mysterious Stranger Starts at Chapter 245.
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Content; GREAT! Performance.. .not so much😁
- By brian deis on 01-09-20
By: Mark Twain
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Buddenbrooks
- The Decline of a Family
- By: Thomas Mann
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 26 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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First published in 1900, when Thomas Mann was 25, Buddenbrooks is a minutely imagined chronicle of four generations of a North German mercantile family - a work so true to life that it scandalized the author’s former neighbours in his native Lübeck.
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Where Have You Been All My Life, Thomas Mann?
- By Virginia Waldron on 03-30-17
By: Thomas Mann
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Mother Carey's Chickens
- By: Kate Douglas Wiggin
- Narrated by: Anne Hancock
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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The sudden death of the father of the family results in the drastic reduction of the Careys' income and they must leave their comfortable home in Boston. Nancy Carey, the eldest, recalls a vacation in Maine when they all picnicked in the garden of a big, vacant house that her father loved. She discovers that the house is available, the rent is cheap, and persuades her mother that life in The Yellow House in Beulah, Maine is the perfect place to begin their new life.
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A very cozy book =)
- By Camilla on 03-01-17
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Jane Eyre
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Thandiwe Newton
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Gothic classic is an early exploration of women's independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety.
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Perfect!!
- By Amazon Customer on 04-21-16
By: Charlotte Brontë
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Lady Audley's Secret
- By: Mary Elizabeth Braddon
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Abridged
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A fast-paced Victorian thriller that will delight audiences today as it did 100 years ago, Lady Audley's Secret has subterfuge, kidnapping, jealousy, and fraud, all thrown into the mix and shaken up for good measure.
A mystery which keeps a listener guessing until the last moments, this production is a must-listen for anyone who enjoys playing detective.
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Narrator creates the listen
- By connie on 02-06-12
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Sister Carrie
- By: Theodore Dreiser
- Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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A magnificent portrayal of 1890's America and the harsh realities of a dog-eat-dog world, Sister Carrie lies at the forefront of American Naturalism. When poor young provincial woman Carrie Meeber arrives in Chicago, she little expects to be catapulted from lower-class woman to prominent Broadway actress. Passive and yielding, she lets circumstances coerce her into action and by good fortune she arrives at fame. It is in Chicago that Carrie meets a successful businessman, Hurstwood, who helps her establish her name.
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Its been on my list for a while
- By lavalleem on 10-07-18
By: Theodore Dreiser
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Lady Audley's Secret
- By: Mary Elizabeth Braddon
- Narrated by: Olivia Poulet
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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From the author of The Christmas Hirelings comes this Audible Exclusive production of Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s classic sensation novel Lady Audley’s Secret. English actress Olivia Poulet gives an assured and captivating narration; a cornerstone of the genre and a scandal at the time of its publication, Lady Audley’s Secret is an entertaining and shocking tale of high drama and shifting perceptions.
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Classic 19th Century “sensation novel”
- By Susan on 08-20-19
What listeners say about Best American Humorous Short Stories
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Marlene
- 08-10-24
Boring reader.
Too monotone reading. Dull ! Would not listen to this again. Reader needs to make us want to hear more, not less
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- george
- 02-18-15
KINDLE perfect - Great VALUE - Dated stories.
A previous reviewer complained about this Audiobook because his IPOD didnt play it well.
The EXACT OPPOSITE is true with KINDLE. Every Story is a Chapter. The list of stories is read out at beginning of chapter 1 and then every title is introduced by narrator, at beginning of each chapter. AUDIBLE and KINDLE a perfect match.
As for content, I think the title misleading. These surely ARE NOT the 18 BEST American short stories - they might be 18 stories for which no royalties had to be paid to the Author, but that is an issue for another time and place.
Priced at less than $5 they are good value indeed.
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- Paul
- 03-25-15
Outdated rip off
Though some of these storiesay be classics they certainly aren't America's best humor. Infact some of the stories like "titbottoms Spectacles" are down right sad. Though the title promised humor. ( it was about a man who could see the true nature of people with some special eye glasses.).
Other stories were down right offensive, but not in a funny way. Like "Giddeon," a story about a former slave who becomes a new york performer, only to ruaway back south where he abducts a young girl to make her his wife.
In general these stories are to outdated too outdated and contextual to be really funny. For example "the callers" is about the nervous trials two young boys face while attempting to "call" on some neighbor girls.
The only really good stories in this collection were those by Mark Twain and O'Henry. You are much better off buying a collection of there stories and skipping this one.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Paula
- 08-25-13
Some delightful stories spoiled by the narration.
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
Different narrator.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Having difficulty staying with the audiobook due to the narrator. I will finish it but it will take a lot of work.
How did the narrator detract from the book?
No levity or personality to her reading.
Any additional comments?
While the narrator's voice is pleasant I am not convinced she enjoyed reading the book aloud. She needs much more life in her performance to make the characters come to life.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Shawn Webster
- 08-30-22
Horribly read.
Just horribly read, wrong narrator.
These stories needed a gruff old man voice, not a well annunciated proper English voice.
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- Noncombatant
- 10-13-12
Unamused
There's an impressive number of stories here, but good luck finding them. The stories do not show up with their titles when downloaded on your iPod. When played, the narrator identifies the title and author of the first story. But the narration for the second story starts within the heading of "Chapter 1." The third story starts in "Chapter 2." In most cases, when you try to advance to the next chapter, you end up in the middle of a story. You don't know what you're listening to. In most cases it's impossible to skip ahead and select a specific story.
Stephanye Dussud is a pleasant enough narrator. She's best doing a French accent and worst when attempting a Southern dialect. But there's a sameness to her performance. There's also a sameness to the stories. The title of the collection would lead you to believe they span the breadth of American humor. But most were written in late 19th century. Aside from the work of Mark Twain, many are (very) light comedies of manners that haven't aged well.
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12 people found this helpful