Short stories | Lecturia

Truman Capote: Miriam

“Miriam” is a short story by Truman Capote, published in June 1945 in Mademoiselle magazine. Mrs. H. T. Miller is a sixty-one-year-old widow living in New York, where she leads a solitary life marked by tranquility and routine. One snowy night, while waiting in line to get into the movie theater, she meets Miriam, a peculiar girl with silver hair who asks her for help getting into the movie. Although Mrs. Miller readily agrees, she soon begins to sense something about Miriam that unsettles her and causes her to distance herself. However, that will not be the last time she sees the girl.

Edgar Allan Poe: The Purloined Letter

“The Purloined Letter” is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, published in September 1844 in The Gift for 1845. In Paris, the police prefect visits detective C. Auguste Dupin to consult him on a case that has him baffled: a letter of enormous political importance has been stolen right under its owner’s nose by Minister D…, who is using it to blackmail her. Although the police have thoroughly searched the alleged thief’s mansion, the letter remains missing. Faced with the failure of conventional methods, the prefect turns to Dupin’s ingenuity, who will use his unique analytical skills to solve the mystery.

Robert Louis Stevenson: The Bottle Imp

“The Bottle Imp” is a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson published in 1891. It tells the story of Keawe, a Hawaiian man who acquires a magic bottle with an extraordinary power: it can grant its owner any wish. However, the bottle is cursed; whoever dies while in its possession is doomed to hell. The only way to avoid this fate is to sell it for less than what was paid for it. Keawe, seduced by the promises of wealth and happiness, must face the consequences of this dark bargain. As his wishes begin to come true, so does his despair, as the bottle’s curse puts both his future and that of his loved ones at stake.

O. Henry: After Twenty Years

“After Twenty Years” is a short story by O. Henry (the pen name of William Sydney Porter), published in 1906 in the collection The Four Million. Set on a cold New York night, the story begins with a police officer patrolling the nearly deserted streets until he encounters a man waiting for an old friend. Two decades earlier, the two had made a promise: to meet again at that very spot and at the same hour, no matter how much their lives might have changed. The dialogue between the police officer and the stranger reveals details of that old friendship, establishing the story’s nostalgic and expectant tone.

Nathaniel Hawthorne: Feathertop: A Moralized Legend

“Feathertop: A Moralized Legend” is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in February 1852 in The International Magazine. Mother Rigby, a powerful New England witch, makes a scarecrow for her cornfield using sticks, straw, old clothes, and a pumpkin for a head. Fascinated by the result of her handiwork, the witch decides to use magic to breathe life into it. Transformed into a handsome and refined gentleman, the figure—christened Feathertop—is sent by its creator into the vain world of human beings to try its luck.

Juan Rulfo: Anacleto Morones

“Anacleto Morones” is a short story by the Mexican writer Juan Rulfo, published in 1953 in the book El llano en llamas. Lucas Lucatero is at his ranch when, in the midst of heat and dust, he sees a group of devout women arriving from Amula. The unwelcome visitors come with the purpose of convincing him to return with them to the town to give testimony about the life and deeds of Anacleto Morones, whom they regard as a saint capable of performing miracles. However, they run up against Lucatero’s reluctance, for he holds a very different opinion of the man who was once his father-in-law.