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In this delightfully funny novella, a group of high-spirited Oxford students collaborate on a serial story based off a stray letter found by one of them, signed "Kathleen." When they decide to track down the real Kathleen and her family—and make it a competition among themselves to do so—hilarity ensues!
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"Say," he said kindly, "don't you worry none about that there Christmas tree an' no holly. We'll have a thump-walloper of a day, anyhow!"
It is conceivable that Abner Sawyer's experience with thump-wallopers had been limited.
A stiffly-starched, elderly bank president agrees to host an orphan boy from the city for Christmas—and finds himself more and more bewildered at the boy's cheerfulness and liking for everyone and everything, and at the changes he effects on the household and on the banker himself.
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When a quiet, well-respected politician suddenly begins behaving very strangely, his political opponents believe they've found a perfect way to discredit him—but what they discover when they spy on his Christmas Eve party takes them by surprise!
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In this lovely holiday novella, Christmas cards illustrated by a minister's warm-hearted wife find their way into the right hands to restore the happiness of two troubled families.
Today, a special feature: two obscure but delightful short stories by American authors, discovered in the public-domain treasure trove of the Internet Archive. Ebooks from this site are converted from scans and are frequently filled with typos, but still readable if you make want to make the effort! However, the stories can also be read online, similarly to Google Books.
Twenty-Three and a Half Hours' Leave by Mary Roberts Rinehart
In this delightfully funny story set during World War I, a young sergeant makes a rash bet that he will have breakfast with the general, plunging himself and his outfit into a series of comic mishaps. (There is also a 99-cent edition on Amazon that looks to be well-formatted.)
The Spring Concert by Booth Tarkington
Springtime, a band concert, and a bit of matchmaking, all wrapped in Tarkington's lovely nostalgic descriptions of times gone by.
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In this delightful stage play set in Regency England, a woman masquerades as her own (fictional) niece in order to teach a neglectful suitor a lesson—but finds her situation becoming more and more complicated as inquisitive neighbors grow insistently curious for a sight of the imaginary young lady!
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Little Teddy Platt treasures a button from the uniform of his soldier father who died in battle, and longs to be a soldier himself one day—but with the help of the minister Mr. Upton, he also learns to enlist under the banner of the Lord and fight the battle of spiritual warfare against his own worst enemies within.
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In this charming Western romance, Eastern society girl Beatrice Lansing finds herself caught between the English nobleman suitor her mother is anxious for her to marry and an aggravatingly attractive cowboy neighbor while on a visit to her brother's Montana ranch.
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In this Victorian-era mystery by an author known as the "Mother of Detective Fiction," inquisitive Miss Amelia Butterworth, a forerunner of other lady detectives of literature such as Miss Marple, takes it upon herself to investigate a murder after observing strange goings-on at the house next door.
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In this light, charming little Edwardian-era romance, telegraph operator Natalie Rogers strikes up a conversation with another operator over the wire, and soon develops a long-distance friendship with the young man she knows only as "C." When they are finally brought together in real life, will the friendship lead to something more...?
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A collection of short stories, each a "love story" in its own way, ranging from a bittersweet World War I romance to the delightfully funny "Jane," a tale of a temperamental and not-so-ill patient in a hospital with the staff on strike. Most of the stories feature the hospital setting familiar to Rinehart from her own training as a nurse.
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Written in the form of the protagonist's journal, Stepping Heavenward chronicles one woman's sometimes tempestuous, sometimes joyful journey from girlhood on through marriage and motherhood, and her struggles and successes with faith and family life.
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A fascinating and emotional diary from a young Louisiana girl whose family was divided by the Civil War, and who lived through the hardships of war and occupation.
(This early version, published in the author's lifetime and now in the public domain, is apparently not her full diaries, which have since been published in their entirety.)
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Margaret Junkin Preston, the wife of Virginia Military Institute founder Colonel J.T.L. Preston and sister-in-law of Stonewall Jackson, was known as the "Poetess of the Confederacy" for her epic poem Beechenbrook and other war-related poems (some of which are included in this volume). Beechenbrook follows the fortunes of a Virginia soldier's wife and her family through the hardships and heartaches of the Civil War—a moving, poignant story in verse.
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A charming short comedy of what ensues when a distracted young playwright and an egotistical actor both become infatuated with a young understudy actress in their play.
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A splendid novel of adventure in the Elizabethan era, following an unforgettable band of English explorers as they combat spies at home, trail an enemy to the uncharted new world of South America, and eventually face a final reckoning in the battle with the Spanish Armada.
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A warm, charming tale of life on a prosperous family farm, told through the eyes of the youngest child, with most of the plot revolving around her adored older brother's attempts to win the beautiful daughter of wealthy neighbors who have secrets of their own.
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A lovely volume of short stories, chiefly of love and family life. A young man is given a new perspective on the stepmother he disapproves of in "The Measure of Margaret Coppered"; a careless prank gives a jolt to a romance in "Dr. Bates and Miss Sally"; a young girl who adores an actress learns a bittersweet lesson about fame in "The Rainbow's End." Some stories are humorous, many touching enough to bring tears to the eyes, all beautifully written.
Project Gutenberg
A delightful little book for lovers of books—the story of a middle-aged spinster who impulsively buys a traveling bookshop, and learns the joys of sharing good literature from its pleasant, quirky former owner, "the Professor." There is currently no free edition in the Kindle Store; this inexpensive one is well-formatted.
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A delightful little book, told entirely through the sprightly letters of a German girl to a young Englishman. Though their relationship to each other undergoes changes during the course of the book, Rose-Marie's perceptive, often humorous and sometimes bittersweet chronicling of the ups and downs of her life is the book's center and its chief charm.
