Famous Short Stories
Instructions: How well do you know the world's most celebrated short stories and their authors?
- 1.
Who wrote 'The Gift of the Magi,' a classic tale about a couple's Christmas sacrifices?
AEdgar Allan PoeBO. HenryCMark TwainDNathaniel Hawthorne - 2.
Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart' features a narrator haunted by what sound?
AFootsteps on stairsBA ticking clockCA ringing bellDA beating heart - 3.
Which author wrote 'The Lottery,' a shocking story about a small-town ritual?
AFlannery O'ConnorBEudora WeltyCJoyce Carol OatesDShirley Jackson - 4.
In which Washington Irving story does a man fall asleep for 20 years?
AThe Legend of Sleepy HollowBRip Van WinkleCThe Devil and Tom WalkerDThe Alhambra - 5.
Who wrote 'The Metamorphosis,' about a man who wakes up transformed into a giant insect?
AHermann HesseBFranz KafkaCRobert MusilDThomas Mann - 6.
Which Russian writer authored 'The Overcoat,' about a humble clerk who buys a new coat?
AAnton ChekhovBLeo TolstoyCNikolai GogolDIvan Turgenev - 7.
Which Ernest Hemingway short story follows an old fisherman's unsuccessful day in 'a clean, well-lighted' establishment?
AHills Like White ElephantsBA Clean, Well-Lighted PlaceCThe Snows of KilimanjaroDBig Two-Hearted River - 8.
Who wrote 'The Necklace,' about a woman who borrows a diamond necklace that she loses?
AGustave FlaubertBHonoré de BalzacCGuy de MaupassantDÉmile Zola - 9.
Which Arthur Conan Doyle story introduced Sherlock Holmes to the world?
AThe Adventure of the Speckled BandBA Scandal in BohemiaCThe Hound of the BaskervillesDA Study in Scarlet - 10.
Which author wrote 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find,' set in the American South?
ACarson McCullersBWilliam FaulknerCFlannery O'ConnorDHarper Lee - 11.
Ray Bradbury's short story 'There Will Come Soft Rains' depicts a house surviving after what event?
AA floodBA nuclear apocalypseCAn alien invasionDAn earthquake - 12.
Who wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper,' a story about a woman's descent into madness?
AKate ChopinBEdith WhartonCWilla CatherDCharlotte Perkins Gilman - 13.
Which Mark Twain short story involves a celebrated jumping frog contest?
AA Dog's TaleBThe $30,000 BequestCThe Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras CountyDThe Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg - 14.
In which story by James Joyce does Gabriel Conroy learn about his wife's past love at a party?
AThe DeadBArabyCEvelineDA Painful Case - 15.
Which Roald Dahl story features a wife who murders her husband with a frozen leg of lamb?
AThe LandladyBLamb to the SlaughterCTasteDMan from the South