The first chapter of a book is often the hook to draw a reader in. It could make you eager for more or realize it isn’t for you. Here we offer the tenth “First Chapter Collection” in which readers share the first chapters of a variety of fiction and non-fiction works. All the works in this collection are in the public domain for those in the United States. Other listeners who wish to download these recordings should confirm that they are in the public domain for their nation. Special attention should be paid to Brockwell who died in 1958, Singh who died in 1996, and Ferguson for whom the death date is unknown. – Summary by KevinS     [chương_files]  

This is a collection of 26 selections, both fiction and nonfiction, in which each topic begins with a different letter of the alphabet.     [chương_files]  

This year’s Christmas collection of short stories, poems and non-fiction features readings in English , French, Italian and Maori. Summary by Annise     [chương_files]  

This book, published in 1918 by the Atlantic Monthly Press, is a collection of 23 “modern short stories”, written by various authors as follows: Cornelia A. P. Comer, Amy Wentworth Stone, Elizabeth Ashe, Dallas Lore Sharp, H. G. Dwight, Mary Lerner, Charles Caldwell Dobie, Henry Seidel Canby, Zephine Humphrey, Katharine Fullerton Gerould, Katharine Butler, Madeleine Z. Doty, F. J. Louriet, Ernest Starr, C. A. Mercer, Margaret Sherwood, E. Nesbit, E. V. Lucas, Margaret Lynn, Margaret Prescott Montague, and Arthur Russell Taylor. This audio compilation begins with the stories themselves, each Section followed by the editor’s Biographical and Interpretative Notes, and at the end of the collection, the book’s lengthy Introduction is included for the benefit of scholars who may be interested in editor Charles Swain Thomas’ detailed opinions on what makes a short story compelling and why women excel in this genre.     [chương_files]  

In 1917, Princess Mary, then 17 years of age, gave her name to this collection of short stories and essays from the most prominent authors of the time for the purpose of raising funds for the “Work For Women Fund”. A few of the outstanding authors represented in this sparkling collection are J.M. Barrie with is essay on A Holiday in Bed; A. Conan Doyle; J.H. Fabre the naturalist with his well know description of The Ant-Lion; H. Ryder Haggard; Rudyard Kipling; Alfred Noyes (“A Spell for a Fairy”); Baroness Orczy (yes, that one); and Kate Douglas Wiggin .     [chương_files]