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The World's Fifty Best Short Novels
This volume includes . . .
"Tappan's Burro" by Zane Grey
"Gallegher" by Richard Harding Davis
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
"Humoresque" by Fannie Hurst
"One Hundred in the Dark" by Owen Johnson
"Tappan's Burro" by Zane Grey
"Gallegher" by Richard Harding Davis
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
"Humoresque" by Fannie Hurst
"One Hundred in the Dark" by Owen Johnson
187 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1929
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About the author
Grant Martin Overton
147 books6 followersGrant Martin Overton (September 19, 1887 - July 4, 1930), American novelist and literary critic, was born in Patchogue, Long Island, N.Y. He attended Blair Academy and spent two years at Princeton (1904-1906). At eighteen he was a reporter on the New York morning Sun; did newspaper work in Denver and San Francisco, shipped before the mast for a voyage around Cape Horn, and returned to the Sun in 1910 as reporter, editorial writer, and editor of the book review section.
Going to George H. Doran, the publisher, in 1922, Overton wrote When Winter Comes to Main Street, Cargoes for Crusoes, and American Nights Entertainment in three successive years, bio-critical essays on American authors (chiefly on the Doran list) no less useful in public libraries for their being glorified publicity. Overton’s novels had a pronounced romantic tinge, as shown by their titles—The Mermaid, and The Thousand and First Night; a fictional account of Walt Whitman’s early years, The Answerer, also took some liberty with history.
He edited a collection of The Word’s One Hundred Best Stories and The World’s 50 Best Short Novels during in his stay with Collier’s as fiction editor (1924-1930). When bad health compelled Overton to live in Santa Fe he acted as consulting editor for the weekly. The Philosophy of Fiction, published two years before his death in New York, at forty-two, was an ambitious (and occasionally rather vague and pretentious) analysis of various novels—Will Cather’s A Lost Lady for one—with discussions of the art of fiction in general, and analysis of an imaginary novel written to illustrate his rules. The book leaned heavily on E. M. Forster’s Aspects of the Novel and Percy Lubbock’s Craft of Fiction, and in its “own slightly American way” was worthy to be set beside them, according to the London Times.
Overton was survived by widow, Clara (Wallace) Overton of Mohawk, N.Y. Looking even younger than his age of forty-two, he was smooth faced, good looking, and always immaculately dressed.
Going to George H. Doran, the publisher, in 1922, Overton wrote When Winter Comes to Main Street, Cargoes for Crusoes, and American Nights Entertainment in three successive years, bio-critical essays on American authors (chiefly on the Doran list) no less useful in public libraries for their being glorified publicity. Overton’s novels had a pronounced romantic tinge, as shown by their titles—The Mermaid, and The Thousand and First Night; a fictional account of Walt Whitman’s early years, The Answerer, also took some liberty with history.
He edited a collection of The Word’s One Hundred Best Stories and The World’s 50 Best Short Novels during in his stay with Collier’s as fiction editor (1924-1930). When bad health compelled Overton to live in Santa Fe he acted as consulting editor for the weekly. The Philosophy of Fiction, published two years before his death in New York, at forty-two, was an ambitious (and occasionally rather vague and pretentious) analysis of various novels—Will Cather’s A Lost Lady for one—with discussions of the art of fiction in general, and analysis of an imaginary novel written to illustrate his rules. The book leaned heavily on E. M. Forster’s Aspects of the Novel and Percy Lubbock’s Craft of Fiction, and in its “own slightly American way” was worthy to be set beside them, according to the London Times.
Overton was survived by widow, Clara (Wallace) Overton of Mohawk, N.Y. Looking even younger than his age of forty-two, he was smooth faced, good looking, and always immaculately dressed.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 22, 2013
What an amazing little red book. I found this volume (along with the other nine in the set of ten) in an antique shop and for what I paid it seems like I got one heck of a deal.
The stories in this first volume are all great reads and fun.
The reason I picked up the set was the opening paragraph to Hummoresque by Fannie Hurst: one sentence comprised of seven lines that read like poetry and painted an indelible picture in my mind, on which she set her story just about as perfect as anything by anyone I've ever read.
The stories in this first volume are all great reads and fun.
The reason I picked up the set was the opening paragraph to Hummoresque by Fannie Hurst: one sentence comprised of seven lines that read like poetry and painted an indelible picture in my mind, on which she set her story just about as perfect as anything by anyone I've ever read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review