Five Short Stories Everyone Should Read

There have been many great short stories written by many great writers. Below is a list of five of those stories, all of which deserve everyone's attention.


5. A Scandal in Bohemia by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The brilliant Sherlock Holmes comes to the aid of a king who tries to avoid a royal disgrace, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s sleuth meets his match: a woman who may be just as clever as the World’s Greatest Detective.

4. Gift of the Magi by O’Henry.

A couple’s love is illustrated by the sacrifices they make for each other in this O’Henry ballad.

3. The Tell-tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.

A murderer’s conscience gets the best of him in Poe’s creepy classic about a man who kills a rival and then buries him under the floorboards of his apartment.

2. The Dead by James Joyce.

Joyce’s introspective story about Dubliners at a holiday party, including a popular man who discovers that his idyllic life is not as perfect as it seems.

1. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway.

This straight-forward tale of two waiters closing up a café shows Hemingway’s greatest strength: capturing the dignity of the human spirit.