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James Matthew Barrie (1860 – 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. Barrie’s short story The Inconsiderate Waiter is a humorous take on the British class system of 1898. At the Victorian Club, it is improper for an upper-class gentleman to be seen to take an interest in any concerns of a member of the working class. So when William, the narrator's waiter, begins to display signs of having a personality and feelings, the respectable gentleman experienced much discomfort.

Count Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828 - 1910), was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. Tolstoy’s short story The Candle is about peasants who want to kill their superintendent because he insists they plough a field on Easter Monday. The theme examines the biblical concept of turning the other cheek, and trusting God to sort out injustice, or taking things into one’s own hands.

"Ligeia" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1838. An unnamed narrator’s beautiful and gifted wife Ligeia, falls ill and dies. After her death, the narrator marries Lady Rowena Trevanion, to whom the same thing happens. As the grief-stricken narrator keeps vigil overnight, he sees Rowena showing signs of life, in a sequence of violent revivals and relapses. When the shrouded Rowena gets up, he recognizes Ligeia, his strange and brilliant first wife. There is, however, a possibility that the narrator experienced a hallucination induced by opium.

"The Middle Toe of the Right Foot", a ghost story by the writer and Civil War soldier Ambrose Bierce, was first published in The San Francisco Examiner in 1890. A man named Manton had murdered his children, and his wife who lacked the middle toe of her right foot. A decade later, he returns to the area; and having been recognized, is provoked to a duel in the dark, to be held at the scene of the crime. When the time of the duel comes, no antagonist appears, and Manton stands alone in the haunted darkness. The next day, they found his corpse, throttled by terror, crouching in a corner.

Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 - March 8, 1887) was a Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery and his emphasis on God's love. In one of a series of lectures to honor his father, Lyman Beecher, he waxes rhapsodic about the pipe organ: “I look upon the history and development of the organ for Christian use as a sublime instance of the guiding hand of God’s providence”. Beecher describes the sound of the organ as a flood that brings power to the people, encircles and fills them and helps them to sing.

Charles John Huffam Dickens is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the 20th century critics and scholars had recognized him as a literary genius. The short story "Boots at the Holly-Tree Inn" was first published by in 1855. The tale is told with much affection by a servant, about the eight-year-old Harry and the seven-year-old Norah who tried to elope to Gretna Green, but were stopped and waited at the Holly-Tree Inn for their parents to arrive.

Turgenev wrote Fathers and Sons as a response to the growing cultural schism between liberals of the 1830s-1840s and the growing nihilist movement. Both the nihilists (the "sons") and the 1830s liberals (the "fathers") sought Western-based social change in Russia. These two modes of thought were contrasted with the Slavophiles, who believed that Russia's path lay in its traditional spirituality. Fathers and Sons, which might be considered as the first really modern novel in Russian literature, enraged everyone when it was published.

This short story is a series of letters from Mary Jane to her friend Irene, whom she excitedly informs of the handsome and charming man she has met. A childhood friend, Raynor, has also appeared and is causing trouble. Mary Anne explains that she and Raynor were part of a trio of childhood friends and that the third had died a while ago...or so she thought.

Melinda was depressed, having just received a rejection note for the manuscript of her historical novel from a publisher. Then, she got the idea of writing a satirical piece about the town where she lived, as a way of escaping the blues. To her dismay, it was accepted by a magazine, and she dreaded the reception from her friends and family. However, when it was published, everyone loved it, including her Uncle Joe, Aunt Lucy, and John Graham whom she referred to as “the preacher” in the story.

"The Glass Dog" is about a wizard who lived on the top floor of a tenement building, always studying and pondering. He had all the books and formulas of all the wizards who had lived before him. Many folks came to him for help about their troubles, and these interruptions irritated him, so he thought of getting a dog to chase them. The glass blower next door makes him a glass dog, he enchants it to life and at first it serves its purpose well, but many complications arise.

The short story "Colonel Sterett's Panther Hunt" is a rumination by a cattleman on his experiences with mountain lions, which he calls “panthers.” The spelling of words deviates from the conventional, and is based on the pronunciation of the narrator.

"Mother Sauvage" by Guy de Maupassant is a short horror story of the Franco-Prussian War. The four young Prussian soldiers quartered in the house of Mother Sauvage do chores around the house as if it were their own. Mother Savage continually asks them about the French 23rd Regiment of the Line in which her son is serving, but they know nothing. When she hears of her son’s death, Mother Sauvage exacts revenge on the young soldiers. The story subtly explores the theme of revenge from the perspective of the narrator, and from the perspective of his friend Serval, who tells him the Mother Savage story.

Wouter van Twiller appears in A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty by Diedrich Knickerbocker, a satirical history by Washington Irving published in 1809. The putative narrator offers a history of New Netherlands, often ignoring or altering facts. Descriptions of the founding and landmarks of early New Amsterdam, and the “golden reign” of Governor Wouter van Twiller are included in the history. Van Twiller is described as a very wise Dutchman who never said a foolish thing.

This story is about the king of the polar bears who lives in the far North, where all the animals fear him. One day, some men arrive in a boat, shoot him, and take his pelt. But by his own magic, he rises again, and the seagulls bring him feathers for a new coat. The polar bears, however, were not impressed with their king’s new coat, and one of them challenged him.

The devil, who lived on the hill across the bay, owned all the rich lands which produced fine crops. One day, St. Michael offered the devil a deal: He would work the land, and they would both share the crops equally. The devil agreed, and Satan declared that he would get everything that grew above the ground, while St. Michael would get the crops that grew underground. So the lands produced nothing but carrots, turnips, onions, and parsnips. Satan was furious, but St. Michael offered to give him everything that grew underground the next year. The following year, all of Satan’s lands were covered with wheat, oats, peas, and cabbage that thrives above ground.

Mark Twain’s essay "The Bee" has a comical twist. It deals with the natural pressure on one bee assure that her colony survives. "After the queen, the next bee in importance to the hive is the virgin. All work is done by them. The males do not work, the queen does no work, unless laying eggs is work."

On Heroes, Hero Worship, and The Heroic in History by Thomas Carlyle, is a collection of six lectures given in May 1840 about prominent historical figures. It sets out Carlyle's belief in the importance of heroic leadership, his view of how the world would be if powerful and inspired men were to have the power he thought they deserved. The collection includes figures ranging from religion to literature and politics, and the figures chosen were presented by Carlyle as archetypal examples of individuals who had dramatically impacted history for good or ill.

Andrew Lang (1844 - 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, and literary critic. His 12 collections of fairy tales are known as Andrew Lang's Coloured Fairy Books or Andrew Lang's Fairy Books of Many Colors. The third in the series, the Green Fairy Book, contains tales from around the world, from Grimm (“The White Snake” and “Spindle, Shuttle, and Needle”), France de Caylus, Fenelon, Kletke, and D'Aulnoy. The stories include "The Crystal Coffin", "The Three Snake-Leaves", "The Riddle", "Jack My Hedgehog", "The Golden Lads", and many more.

The Kalevala is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology. The Kalevala was instrumental in the development of the Finnish national identity and the sense of nationality that led to Finland's independence from Russia in 1917. Beginning with the traditional Finnish creation myth, the Kalevala branches out into stories of the creation of the earth, plants, creatures, and the sky. There are many stories of, romance, kidnapping, seduction, and magical spell casting and singing.

The Land of Little Rain by Mary Hunter Austin, first published in 1903, contains a series of interrelated essays about the American Southwest. A theme of environmental conservation and a philosophy of regional culture loosely link the narratives. The first essay covers the "Country of Lost Borders," an area between Death Valley and the High Sierras. In "Water Trails of the Ceriso", the author describes the many animals that travel along the trails, including coyotes and quails. "The Scavengers" deals with carrion feeders like buzzards and crows.