“A Pair of Silk Stockings” (1897) is a short story (2000-words) written by Kate Chopin, first published in Vogue magazine. The story is a work of Literary Realism, set at the time of publication and told from the third-person point of view. It describes the experience of Mrs. Sommers, a married, middle-class woman raising a family on a modest income, who unexpectedly comes into $15, a considerable amount of money in 1897. The interest of... Read A Pair of Silk Stockings Summary

Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States is one of the most famous American history books published in recent decades. It has sold over two million copies. First published in 1980, the book was nominated for the American Book Award and has gone through at least six major revisions. Although controversial when first published, the book has become comfortably mainstream. It is mentioned by name in the film Good Will Hunting and the... Read A People’s History of the United States Summary

Apex Hides the Hurt, a 2006 novel by American author Colson Whitehead, follows a nameless, emotionally muted nomenclature consultant, or an expert in creating brand names. The novel toggles between the protagonist’s memories of success at his company, and his current consulting assignment—renaming a town. The novel satirizes contemporary American consumer culture and features themes of race and identity. Whitehead uses humor and revelation as key narrative techniques in this story about a man who... Read Apex Hides the Hurt Summary

... Read A Photo Finish Summary

Jack London’s 1909 “A Piece of Steak” is a naturalist short story first published in The Saturday Evening Post. It took him between two and four weeks to write, and he was paid a very handsome (for the era) $500 for it. While London is best known for his novels about the Alaskan wilderness, including The Call of the Wild (1903) and White Fang (1906), he was also interested in workers’ rights and advocated for... Read A Piece of Steak Summary

... Read Apollo Summary

... Read Arcana Academy Summary

Arden of Faversham is an Elizabethan play originally performed in 1592. The play’s authorship is disputed. While potential authors include Thomas Kyd, Christopher Marlowe, and Thomas Watson, computer stylometric analyses attribute probable authorship to William Shakespeare. The Oxford Shakespeare attributes the play to Shakespeare and an anonymous collaborator, potentially Watson.The play is the first extant example of English domestic tragedy, which would subsequently flourish throughout Elizabeth and Jamesian drama and be rekindled in the 1700s... Read Arden of Faversham Summary

“A Real Durwan” is the fourth story in Jhumpa Lahiri’s debut short-story collection, Interpreter of Maladies (1999), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award. The story recounts the daily lives of the stair-sweeper, Boori Ma, and the families who share a building of flats in Calcutta (now known as Kolkata) after the Partition of India in 1947. An English-born American author raised by Bengali parents, Lahiri is known for her characters’... Read A Real Durwan Summary

... Read Are Prisons Obsolete? Summary

... Read A River in Darkness Summary

A River Sutra, a novel by Indian American author Gita Mehta, was first published in 1993. The novel is set on the banks of the Narmada River in India, and it is comprised of interconnected stories about characters who are drawn to the river. The narrator seeks to retreat from the world after his wife’s death, but he gains an appreciation for the lived experiences of humanity through the stories he hears. The novel discusses... Read A River Sutra Summary

A Room with a View is a 1908 historical fiction/romance novel by British author E. M. Forster. The novel is split between Italy and England, telling the story of Lucy Honeychurch, a young and spirited middle-class Englishwoman who embarks on a journey of self-discovery during a trip to Italy. During her travels, Lucy falls in love with the free-spirited and unconventional George Emerson, a fellow tourist, but is later forced to choose between her heart's... Read A Room with a View Summary

... Read Artemis Summary

... Read A Ruin of Roses Summary

“A Scandal in Bohemia” (1891) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has the distinction of being the first short story to feature literature’s most famous sleuth, Sherlock Holmes. The Sherlock Holmes stories were originally serialized in The Strand Magazine, and the famous British literary magazine published Doyle’s works from 1891 to 1930. Doyle also featured his iconic amateur detective in four novels and several collections, including A Study in Scarlet (1887), The Sign of Four (1890)... Read A Scandal in Bohemia Summary

Written in 2002 by Mary Jane Auch, Ashes of Roses is a historical fiction novel that follows a young Irish immigrant named Rose Nolan as she comes to New York City with her family. Seeking a better life in America, Rose finds work at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The novel chronicles her experiences as an immigrant and a factory worker and examines the events up to the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911. Through... Read Ashes Of Roses Summary

... Read Ashlords Summary

A Simple Heart is a novella by Gustave Flaubert that appeared in his book Three Tales. The title has also been translated as A Simple Soul. The story follows the kind and loving maidservant Félicité from her youth to her death and details the many loves that she loses along the way, exploring themes of The Power of Social Class, The Value of a Personal Relationship With God, and The Omnipresence of Death. This guide... Read A Simple Heart Summary

... Read Ask Not Summary