The Best of America: Seven Classic Short Stories
About this audiobook
This anthology of unabridged short stories represents some of the most significant works from the most influential American authors of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Included are Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving, Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe, Mermaids by Louisa May Alcott, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce, and The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry.
About the author
Washinton Irving (1783–1859) was an American essayist, novelist, and historian. The first American author to achieve international fame, his literary career served in many ways to consolidate the cultures of the United States and Europe.
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 - 1864) was an acclaimed American novelist. He was born Nathaniel Hathorne in Salem, Massachusetts, though he added a w to his name to distance himself from his family's involvement in the infamous Salem witch trials of the 1690s. The trials, along with Puritan culture in general, greatly influenced his writings. He is best remembered for his hallmark novels The House of Seven Gables, and The Scarlet Letter.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American author of short stories, poetry, and literary criticism and theory. Titled "The Master of the Macabre" he is famous for his tales of mystery and horror. He was one of the earliest masters of the short story and is widely credited as the creator of detective fiction.
Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) was a prolific American author known for her novel, Little Women, and its sequels, Little Men and Jo's Boys. She received instruction from several famous authors, including Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, and she is commonly considered to be the foremost female novelist of the Gilded Age.
Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835, Mark Twain spent his youth in Hannibal, Missouri, which forms the setting for his two greatest works, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Trying his hand at printing, typesetting and then gold-mining, the former steam-boat pilot eventually found his calling in journalism and travel writing. Dubbed 'the father of American literature' by William Faulkner, Twain died in 1910 after a colourful life of travelling, bankruptcy and great literary success.
Ambrose Bierce (1842–ca. 1914) was an American journalist, short-story writer, and poet. Born in Ohio, he served in the Civil War and then settled in San Francisco. He wrote for Hearst’s Examiner, his wit and satire making him the literary dictator of the Pacific coast and strongly influencing many writers. He disappeared into war-torn Mexico in 1913.
O. Henry (1862–1910), born William Sydney Porter in Greensboro, North Carolina, was a short-story writer whose tales romanticized the commonplace, in particular, the lives of ordinary people in New York City. His stories often had surprise endings, a device that became identified with his name. He began writing sketches around 1887, and his stories of adventure in the Southwest United States and in Central America were immediately popular with magazine readers.
Others, as in, not you
Bronson Pinchot is an experienced narrator and actor who has appeared in multiple films and television shows. His film and television credits include Risky Business, Beverly Hills Cop, True Romance, and Perfect Strangers. A lover of Greek Revival architecture and soft shell crab, he currently resides in Manhattan.
John Chancer is an award winning narrator of numerous audiobooks. He has performed in theaters on both sides of the Atlantic. His television appearances have included Any Human Heart, Episodes, Spooks, The Long Firm, and William & Mary. His films include Casino Royale, Unstoppable, Grim, and Project: Shadowchaser.
Katherine Fenton has worked on television and radio commercials, voiced the children's cartoons Four Eyes and Knights of the Zodiac, and done podcasts for The Economist, New Scientist, and the science-fiction/fantasy series Transcendent Tales. She has also narrated over eighty audiobook titles in a variety of genres, including titles such as the Morganville Vampire Series, TC Boyles's Sam Miguel, and Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby.
Geraint Wyn Davies is a stage, film, and television actor. Born in Britain and educated in Canada, he has worked in Britain, Canada, and the United States. His stage career began in Quebec City when he appeared in The Fantasticks, Red Emma, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He went on to perform in many Shakespeare productions with various companies, including London’s Centre Stage and the British Actors Theatre Company, and he has performed at several festivals, such as Ontario’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival and the Atlantic Theatre Festival. His audiobook credits include Great American Suspense and Great Classic Hauntings.
Patrick Fraley has created voices for over four thousand characters, placing him among the top ten performers of all time to be cast in animated programs. He holds an MFA in acting from Cornell University and is the author of the only character-voice curriculum ever to be accredited at the university level.
Norman Dietz is a writer, voice-over artist, and audiobook narrator. He has won numerous Earphones Awards and was named one of the fifty “Best Voices of the Century” by AudioFile magazine. He and his late wife, Sandra, transformed an abandoned ice-cream parlor into a playhouse, which served “the world’s best hot fudge sundaes” before and after performances. The founder of Theatre in the Works, he lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
