Stephen Crane (1) (1871–1900)

Three stories. I read recently an article that called The Monster something like Crane's masterpiece. It is a terrific story, an excellent portrayal of some events in a smallish town, looking at the effects of a disastrous fire. Crane goes against the expectations he builds as to what the story is to be about; early in the story he follows a couple characters, but the focus drifts as the story develops, and you see he's after something totally different. He later wrote a book of stories about this small town, Whilomville. The ending at first seemed a tad disappointing, but it's very haunting.

The second story, The Blue Hotel, is also very gripping, and once again you think the story is going to follow one arc, but it goes in a different direction. It's another excellent story. The final one, His New Mittens, isn't quite so memorable, but in it as in all the stories, his characterization are keen and the story goes against your expectations.

These are the of Crane I've read in many years, and they were well worth it. Just have to say thanks to all those who transcribed the stories and made them available in the public domain. You can get this book, and many others, for Kindle or iBooks free.… (more)