What do you think?
Rate this book
New Windmills
Nineteenth Century Short Stories
One of a series of top-quality fiction for schools, this collection of stories has been selected by English teachers for its appeal to Key Stage 4 students. It includes stories by Kate Chopin, Thomas Hardy, Elizabeth Gaskell, Oscar Wilde, Olive Shreiner, Charlotte Bronte and others.
- GenresShort Stories
192 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2009
3 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 8, 2017
I purchased this collection of Nineteenth Century Short Stories on the recommendation of my son’s school, who have suggested that pupils read one story a week in preparation for their English GCSE’s which includes a lot of writing from this period. I have always enjoyed writing from the Nineteenth Century, but it is certainly true that the language is more formal and much of the writing was unfamiliar to my twelve year old son and perhaps more difficult for him than the usual novels he reads.
This book contains seventeenth stories, which are listed under the headings, ‘Togetherness?’ ‘Making Choices,’ ‘Women Amongst Men, ‘ ‘Outsiders’ and ‘Mystery and Detection.’ Authors include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, Charlotte Bronte, Thomas Hardy, Elizabeth Gaskell, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens and Edgar Allan Poe. We have been reading one of these stories each week and discussing them, which my son says he has enjoyed and which is helping him become more familiar with the style of the writing. This offers a good range of authors and different stories, which are interesting and well presented.
This book contains seventeenth stories, which are listed under the headings, ‘Togetherness?’ ‘Making Choices,’ ‘Women Amongst Men, ‘ ‘Outsiders’ and ‘Mystery and Detection.’ Authors include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, Charlotte Bronte, Thomas Hardy, Elizabeth Gaskell, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens and Edgar Allan Poe. We have been reading one of these stories each week and discussing them, which my son says he has enjoyed and which is helping him become more familiar with the style of the writing. This offers a good range of authors and different stories, which are interesting and well presented.
September 24, 2025
beste short story was die van Arthur Conan Doyle want de dynamiek van Sherlock en Watson is gewoon niet te toppen
February 18, 2022
I'm not usually drawn to collections of short stories, unless they attempt particularly interesting innovations to form or structure, as I prefer getting to know characters over a longer text. Nonetheless, this anthology - intended for study by GCSE students - contains a number of arresting and memorable tales.
In particular, I enjoyed the selections from some of my favourite nineteenth-century writers (Hardy, Gaskell, Wilde, Conan Doyle), and was favourably struck by a few others, whose authors I've now made a note to investigate further (Bennett, Chopin, Gorky).
A few stories in this anthology, such as the selections from Charlotte Bronte and Charles Dickens, are relatively forgettable (and not among these great writers' best work). Nevertheless, this is a good representation of the period's short stories, and one that seems thoughtfully curated for its intended student audience.
In particular, I enjoyed the selections from some of my favourite nineteenth-century writers (Hardy, Gaskell, Wilde, Conan Doyle), and was favourably struck by a few others, whose authors I've now made a note to investigate further (Bennett, Chopin, Gorky).
A few stories in this anthology, such as the selections from Charlotte Bronte and Charles Dickens, are relatively forgettable (and not among these great writers' best work). Nevertheless, this is a good representation of the period's short stories, and one that seems thoughtfully curated for its intended student audience.
July 31, 2019
I never used this as a GCSE classroom text when I was a teacher, so thought I'd give it a decent read before deshelving it, and have to say I thought it was okay.
It is a wide-ranging selection of long and short short stories. Many authors represented are well known: Arnold Bennett, Thos. Hardy, H.G. Wells, Chas. Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell, Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe; others are less commonly encountered by UK readers, though no less significant - Maupassant, Kate Chopin, Maxim Gorky, Willa Cather, Olive Schreiner for example.
It's good to see 'The Yellow Wallpaper' included, an excellent story for teenagers to get their teeth into and their heads round (as it were). And the range of styles and tones is excellent as well: Dickens' and Wilde's sentimentality, Poe's, Maupassant's, and Bierce's black, macabre irony, the good-natured humour of Bennett and Hardy, the unsettling accounts of madness in Gillman's and Cather's stories. Several stories are written from a woman's point of view: in particular I liked 'The Unexpected', in which a woman, engaged to a young man who has become a maudlin, whining invalid abandons him in spite of his money. Even 'The Speckled Band' - which I remember hearing on the radio when I was a kid and by which I was terrified - makes a devastating point about the vulnerability of women in a world in which their affairs are conducted by men who are often reliant on the money they have through their wives or that they stand to inherit from them.
Several stories, of course, are very neatly plotted, and though we may be accustomed to the techniques they exhibit, it does not, I think, prevent us enjoying them. In this respect, I think the one which was my favourite from the collection was Bennett's 'News of the Engagement'. It made me feel 'all's right with the world' if it contains such good-natured people who are gratefully comfortable and careful of each other's wellbeing. It also has a moment in which a gentleman friend offers a widow's son a cigar with a bonhomous 'Have a weed'. I liked that!
It is a wide-ranging selection of long and short short stories. Many authors represented are well known: Arnold Bennett, Thos. Hardy, H.G. Wells, Chas. Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell, Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe; others are less commonly encountered by UK readers, though no less significant - Maupassant, Kate Chopin, Maxim Gorky, Willa Cather, Olive Schreiner for example.
It's good to see 'The Yellow Wallpaper' included, an excellent story for teenagers to get their teeth into and their heads round (as it were). And the range of styles and tones is excellent as well: Dickens' and Wilde's sentimentality, Poe's, Maupassant's, and Bierce's black, macabre irony, the good-natured humour of Bennett and Hardy, the unsettling accounts of madness in Gillman's and Cather's stories. Several stories are written from a woman's point of view: in particular I liked 'The Unexpected', in which a woman, engaged to a young man who has become a maudlin, whining invalid abandons him in spite of his money. Even 'The Speckled Band' - which I remember hearing on the radio when I was a kid and by which I was terrified - makes a devastating point about the vulnerability of women in a world in which their affairs are conducted by men who are often reliant on the money they have through their wives or that they stand to inherit from them.
Several stories, of course, are very neatly plotted, and though we may be accustomed to the techniques they exhibit, it does not, I think, prevent us enjoying them. In this respect, I think the one which was my favourite from the collection was Bennett's 'News of the Engagement'. It made me feel 'all's right with the world' if it contains such good-natured people who are gratefully comfortable and careful of each other's wellbeing. It also has a moment in which a gentleman friend offers a widow's son a cigar with a bonhomous 'Have a weed'. I liked that!
October 2, 2017
Absolutely, thoroughly enjoyed it! It had been a long time since I had indulged in Victorian fiction. I had read Hardy, Doyle, and Dickens in my later school days and early college days. Lately, my reading had been limited to either contemporary fiction or non-fiction books. This was a departure from the norm; and a welcome one at that. The 19th century style of writing harkens back to a time when the written word was a great art form and there was not many other options (say, like YouTube) to otherwise entertain or distract you. So the authors put a lot more into their work and their stories for their audience. There are many good writers today, but the style of writing has changed (I will not judge whether it is for the better or worse).
For anyone interested in a different style of reading pleasure, this is a 5-star recommendation.
For anyone interested in a different style of reading pleasure, this is a 5-star recommendation.
March 20, 2018
Chopin and Gilman's feature especially. There is something haunting about nineteenth century short stories, I love them.
June 21, 2021
A nice charity shop find that included some good short stories. I particularly enjoyed The Half Brothers by Elizabeth Gaskell and 26 Men & a Girl by Maxim Gorky.
March 12, 2017
Thoughtfully put-together volume of 17 short stories, designed to introduce nineteenth-century fiction to 14-16-year-olds. The stories are arranged in helpful groupings, there's an on-the-page glossary of terms that may be unfamiliar, and there's an introduction to each author for useful context.
Only two of the stories are translations from other languages. Though one of these, by Gorky (26 Men and a Girl), is a standout, the book may have been better trying to be either one thing or the other, and sticking to original stories in English. Of these, almost all are British or American, and there's a good mix of stories by men and by women.
There are some very famous writers here: Bronte, Dickens, Wells, Poe, Hardy (who it's refreshing to see in a lighter, more humorous mode), and standouts from Wilde (The Nightingale and the Rose), Gaskell (The Half Brothers, which nearly made me cry), Doyle (good decision to include a Sherlock Holmes story) and a female writer I've never encountered before, Gilman (The Yellow Wallpaper).
... Well done Pearson!
Only two of the stories are translations from other languages. Though one of these, by Gorky (26 Men and a Girl), is a standout, the book may have been better trying to be either one thing or the other, and sticking to original stories in English. Of these, almost all are British or American, and there's a good mix of stories by men and by women.
There are some very famous writers here: Bronte, Dickens, Wells, Poe, Hardy (who it's refreshing to see in a lighter, more humorous mode), and standouts from Wilde (The Nightingale and the Rose), Gaskell (The Half Brothers, which nearly made me cry), Doyle (good decision to include a Sherlock Holmes story) and a female writer I've never encountered before, Gilman (The Yellow Wallpaper).
... Well done Pearson!
February 26, 2012
This is the first short story book i have read; now I am a big fan of short stories! My favorites were: The yellow wall paper, The Adventures of a Speckled Band, Tony Kytes the arch deceiver, Country Living and many MORE! Absolutely LOVED IT!
October 1, 2012
A cracking set of stories
May 22, 2014
Excellent stories didn't read all of them some very sad
January 4, 2025
Gorgeous selection here- absolutely wonderful!! Fab!!! My fave was most definitely Oscar Wilde, the Rose
April 16, 2017
'The Unexpected' was a short, effective story. Despite its grim message, I liked the format and the writing. 'Tony Kytes, the Arch-Deceiver' was another tale I couldn't help but like. While Tony wasn't the sweetest apple in the tree, his genuine father-help-me-I-have-three-women-in-my-cart-and-no-idea-how-they-all-got-there is refreshing and amusing. I think the narrative would have been better framed independently though, rather than as a tale amongst others. 'News of the Engagement' left a clear enough memory of what occurred but it wasn't my favourite story in the anthology. The twist at the end though, that his mother is engaged too, made me smile. I liked that he let her have her moment instead of overshadowing it with his own announcement. 'The Half Brothers' made me cry. Enough said. 'County Living' had a dire message but a valid one. I think quite a few people would reach the conclusion Charlot does, despite the inherent ungratefulness, and while that doesn't fill me with hope it does make the tale seem more authentic. 'Van Bibber's Burglar' had a good ending but the beginning was too scattered for me. I couldn't tell who Bibber was or what he was supposed to have spent his night doing. 'The Nightingale and the Rose' was beautiful. A heartbreaking fable from one of the best - Oscar Wilde. 'The Woman's Rose' was a considerate story about female friendship and was carried off brilliantly in Schreiner's writing style. I would have liked more detail, as a matter of fact. 'The Yellow Wallpaper' is a short story I have heard of many, many times. Friends studied it at school while I never seemed to come across it. I can't say I was too impressed by it - the writing style was readable and the plot was decent but I wasn't too fond of the technical language. It disrupted the flow of the story for me and really lessened the impact of the ending (which is a shame because the ending was inspired). '26 Men and a Girl' should have pissed me off but I found myself feeling pity for the convicts. I didn't condone their treatment of Tanya at the end of the story but she more than defends herself by keeping her head high and stomping them into the dirt. It was nice, actually, to see a female figure that didn't crumple in shame at being judged. 'The Poor Relation's Story' left me completely underwhelmed. I'm still not sure what actually happened in it and I don't really care. 'Lou, the Prophet' was ok but the content the story pedals isn't really my cup of tea. 'The Stolen Bacillus', on the flip side, perked my interest back up and had me smiling with its surprise ending. I'm not sure a virus that turns people blue is viable but I loved the comic twist, especially as it offset the Anarchist's darker intentions. 'Hop Frog' continued the trend of awesomeness. I shouldn't really have laughed at the cruel slaughter of eight people but I didn't cry either. Poe's writing style has more to do with that than anything else I think. Nonetheless, a truly groundbreaking story, again more in the form of a fairy tale than anything else, which is almost a surefire way of attracting and keeping my attention. 'Napoleon and the Spectre' was again, not my cup of tea. Something was just missing from the story. 'An Arrest' fared a bit better but was still too short for my liking. 'The Adventures of the Speckled Band' I did not reread, since I've had the joy of encountering it four times already.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews