Best Short Stories (GEMs)

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This is a complete list of the short stories grouped into different categories on this website which I have classified as GEMs. The list includes links for several associated items which may be available online for each book: (a) Wikipedia page, (b) e-book, and (c) audiobook. There is also a column called “More info” with links to optional posts on each book.

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Group	Year	Author	Book Name	Short Story Title	GEM!	Year-orig	Recurring Character(s)	Wikipedia	E-story	Audiobook	More
A	1850	Poe, Edgar Allan	Tales of Mystery & Imagination	The Murders in the Rue Morgue		1841	C. Auguste Dupin (debut)
A	1850	Poe, Edgar Allan	Tales of Mystery & Imagination	The Gold-Bug		1843
A	1850	Poe, Edgar Allan	Tales of Mystery & Imagination	The Purloined Letter		1844	C. Auguste Dupin
B	1892	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	A Scandal in Bohemia		1891	Holmes, Watson
B	1892	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	The Red-Headed League		1891	Holmes, Watson
B	1892	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	A Case of Identity		1891	Holmes, Watson
B	1892	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	The Boscombe Valley Mystery		1891	Holmes, Watson
B	1892	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	The Man with the Twisted Lip		1891	Holmes, Watson
B	1892	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle		1892	Holmes, Watson
B	1892	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	The Adventure of the Speckled Band		1892	Holmes, Watson
B	1892	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor		1892	Holmes, Watson
B	1892	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet		1892	Holmes, Watson
B	1892	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	The Adventure of the Copper Beeches		1892	Holmes, Watson
B	1894	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes	The Adventure of Silver Blaze		1892	Holmes, Watson
B	1894	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes	The Adventure of the Naval Treaty		1893	Holmes, Watson
B	1894	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes	The Final Problem		1893	Holmes, Watson
B	1905	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Return of Sherlock Holmes	The Adventure of the Empty House		1903	Holmes, Watson
B	1905	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Return of Sherlock Holmes	The Adventure of the Priory School		1904	Holmes, Watson
B	1905	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Return of Sherlock Holmes	The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez		1904	Holmes, Watson
B	1905	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Return of Sherlock Holmes	The Adventure of the Abbey Grange		1904	Holmes, Watson
B	1917	Doyle, Arthur Conan	His Last Bow	The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans		1908	Holmes, Watson
B	1917	Doyle, Arthur Conan	His Last Bow	The Adventure of the Devil's Foot		1910	Holmes, Watson
B	1927	Doyle, Arthur Conan	The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes	The Problem of Thor Bridge		1922	Holmes, Watson
C	1924	Christie, Agatha	Poirot Investigates	The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim		1923	Poirot, Hastings, Japp
C	1924	Christie, Agatha	Poirot Investigates	The Kidnapped Prime Minister		1923	Poirot, Hastings, Japp
C	1924	Christie, Agatha	Poirot Investigates (US)	The Veiled Lady		1925	Poirot, Hastings
C	1934	Christie, Agatha	The Listerdale Mystery	Philomel Cottage		1924
C	1934	Christie, Agatha	The Listerdale Mystery	Accident		1929
C	1939	Christie, Agatha	The Regatta Mystery	The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest		1932	Poirot, Hastings
C	1939	Christie, Agatha	The Regatta Mystery	The Regatta Mystery		1936	Parker Pyne
C	1939	Christie, Agatha	The Regatta Mystery	The Dream		1937	Poirot
C	1950	Christie, Agatha	Three Blind Mice (The Mousetrap)	Three Blind Mice		1948
D	1907	Leblanc, Maurice	Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar (aka The Extraordinary Adventures of ...)	The Arrest of Arsène Lupin		1905	Arsène Lupin (debut)
D	1907	Leblanc, Maurice	Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar (aka The Extraordinary Adventures of ...)	Arsène Lupin in Prison		1905	Arsène Lupin
D	1911	Chesterton, G.K.	The Innocence of Father Brown	The Secret Garden		1910	Father Brown
D	1921	Wallace, Edgar	The Law of the Four Just Men	The Man Who Lived at Clapham		1921	George Manfred, Leon Gonsalez
D	1954	Carr, John Dickson	The Third Bullet (& Other Stories)	The Locked Room		1943	Dr. Gideon Fell
E	1893	Stevenson, Robert Louis	Island Nights' Entertainments	The Bottle Imp
E	1982	Forsyth, Frederick	No Comebacks	No Comebacks
E	1985	MacLean, Alistair	The Lonely Sea	The Sinking of the Bismarck
E	2001	Forsyth, Frederick	The Veteran	The Art of the Matter
E	1982	King, Stephen	Different Seasons	Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption: Hope Springs Eternal		1982
F	1819	Irving, Washington	The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.	Rip Van Winkle		1820
F	1820	Irving, Washington	The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.	The Legend of Sleepy Hollow		1820
F	1836	Balzac, Honoré de	The Human Comedy: Scenes from Private Life (originally in French)	The Atheist's Mass		1942
F	1837	Hawthorne, Nathaniel	Twice-Told Tales	Dr. Heidegger's Experiment (aka The Fountain of Youth)		1837
F	1842	Gogol, Nikolai	The Overcoat & Other Stories (originally in Russian)	The Overcoat (aka The Cloak)		1923
F	1843	Hawthorne, Nathaniel	Mosses from an Old Manse	The Birthmark		1846
F	1846	Hawthorne, Nathaniel	Mosses from an Old Manse	Mrs. Bullfrog		1846
F	1863	Hale, Edward Everett	The Man Without a Country & Other Tales	The Man Without a Country		1868
F	1884	Maupassant, Guy de	Tales of Day and Night (originally in French)	The Necklace (aka The Diamond Necklace)		1885
F	1886	Tolstoy, Leo	Twenty-Three Tales (originally in Russian)	How Much Land Does a Man Need?		1907
F	1891	Stevenson, Robert Louis	Island Nights' Entertainments	The Bottle Imp		1893
G	1921	Maugham, W. Somerset	The Trembling of a Leaf	Rain (aka Miss Thompson)		1921
G	1921	Maugham, W. Somerset	The Trembling of a Leaf	The Fall of Edward Barnard		1921
G	1926	Maugham, W. Somerset	The Casuarina Tree: Six Stories	The Letter		1924
G	1931	Maugham, W. Somerset	Six Stories Written in the First Person Singular	The Creative Impulse		1926
G	1936	Maugham, W. Somerset	Cosmopolitans	The Ant and the Grasshopper		1924
G	1940	Maugham, W. Somerset	The Mixture as Before	The Facts of Life		1939
G	1951	Maugham, W. Somerset	The Complete Short Stories Volume III	A Marriage of Convenience		1908
H	1906	Henry, O.	The Four Million	The Gift of the Magi		1905
H	1906	Henry, O.	The Four Million	After Twenty Years		1906
H	1909	Henry, O.	Roads of Destiny	A Retrieved Reformation		1903
H	1918	Tagore, Rabindranath	Stories from Tagore	The Cabuliwallah (aka Kabuliwala)		1892
H	1928	Forster, E.M	The Eternal Moment & Other Stories	The Machine Stops		1909
H	1929	Lardner, Ring	Round Up: The Stories of Ring W. Lardner	Mr. and Mrs. Fixit		1929
H	1929	Lardner, Ring	Round Up: The Stories of Ring W. Lardner	Liberty Hall		1924
H	1937	Steinbeck, John	Of Mice and Men (Novelette)	Of Mice and Men		1937
H	1947	Steinbeck, John	The Pearl (Novelette)	The Pearl
H	1982	Narayan, R. K.	Malgudi Days	An Astrologer's Day		1947
H	1999	Lahiri, Jhumpa	Interpreter of Maladies	The Third and Final Continent		1999
H	1999	Lahiri, Jhumpa	Interpreter of Maladies	Interpreter of Maladies		1999
H	2008	Lahiri, Jhumpa	Unaccustomed Earth	Unaccustomed Earth		2008
I	1956	Clarke, Arthur C.	Reach for Tomorrow	Rescue Party		1946
I	1953	Clarke, Arthur C.	Expedition to Earth	The Sentinel (aka "Sentinel of Eternity")		1951
I	1950	Asimov, Isaac	I, Robot	Robbie (aka Strange Playfellow)		1940
I	1969	Asimov, Isaac	Nightfall & Other Stories	Nightfall		1941
I	1957	Asimov, Isaac	Earth Is Room Enough	Jokester		1956
I	1959	Asimov, Isaac	Nine Tomorrows	The Last Question		1956
I	1959	Asimov, Isaac	Nine Tomorrows	The Ugly Little Boy (aka "Lastborn")		1958
I	1899	Wells, H.G.	Tales of Space and Time	The Star		1897
I	1928	Forster, E. M.	The Eternal Moment & Other Stories	The Machine Stops		1909
I	1977	Hamilton, Edmond	The Best of Edmond Hamilton	The Man Who Evolved		1931
I	1970	Leinster, Murray	The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Vol. 1	First Contact		1945
J	1923	Wodehouse, P. G.	The Inimitable Jeeves	Bingo and the Little Woman		1922	Jeeves, Wooster
J	1923	Wodehouse, P. G.	The Inimitable Jeeves	Comrade Bingo		1922	Jeeves, Wooster
J	1923	Wodehouse, P. G.	The Inimitable Jeeves	Introducing Claude and Eustace		1922	Jeeves, Wooster
J	1923	Wodehouse, P. G.	The Inimitable Jeeves	The Great Sermon Handicap		1922	Jeeves, Wooster
J	1923	Wodehouse, P. G.	The Inimitable Jeeves	The Pride of the Woosters Is Wounded		1922	Jeeves, Wooster
J	1924	Wodehouse, P. G.	Ukridge	The Exit of Battling Billson		1923	Ukridge
J	1925	Wodehouse, P. G.	Carry On, Jeeves	Jeeves Takes Charge		1916	Jeeves, Wooster
J	1926	Wodehouse, P. G.	The Heart of a Goof (& Other Stories)	High Stakes		1925	Oldest Member
J	1926	Wodehouse, P. G.	The Heart of a Goof (& Other Stories)	Keeping In with Vosper		1926	Oldest Member
J	1927	Wodehouse, P. G.	Meet Mr Mulliner	Portrait of a Disciplinarian		1927	Mr. Mulliner
J	1927	Wodehouse, P. G.	Meet Mr Mulliner	The Truth about George		1926	Mr. Mulliner
J	1930	Wodehouse, P. G.	Very Good, Jeeves	Jeeves and the Impending Doom		1926	Jeeves, Wooster
J	1930	Wodehouse, P. G.	Very Good, Jeeves	Jeeves and the Old School Chum		1930	Jeeves, Wooster
J	1930	Wodehouse, P. G.	Very Good, Jeeves	The Love That Purifies (aka Jeeves and the Love That Purifies)		1929	Jeeves, Wooster
J	1933	Wodehouse, P. G.	Mulliner Nights	Cats Will be Cats (aka The Bishop's Folly)		1932	Mr. Mulliner
J	1935	Wodehouse, P. G.	Blandings Castle and Elsewhere	Monkey Business (aka A Cagey Gorilla)		1932	Mr. Mulliner
J	1935	Wodehouse, P. G.	Blandings Castle and Elsewhere	Mr Potter Takes a Rest Cure (aka The Rest Cure)		1926	Bobbie Wickham
J	1935	Wodehouse, P. G.	Blandings Castle and Elsewhere	Pig-hoo-o-o-o-ey		1927	Blandings
J	1935	Wodehouse, P. G.	Blandings Castle and Elsewhere	The Custody of the Pumpkin		1924	Blandings
J	1936	Wodehouse, P. G.	Young Men in Spats	Good-Bye to All Cats		1934	Drone Freddie Widgeon
J	1936	Wodehouse, P. G.	Young Men in Spats	Trouble Down at Tudsleigh		1935	Drone Freddie Widgeon
J	1937	Wodehouse, P. G.	Lord Emsworth and Others	Buried Treasure (aka Hidden Treasure)		1936	Mr. Mulliner
J	1937	Wodehouse, P. G.	Lord Emsworth and Others	The Crime Wave at Blandings		1936	Blandings
J	1937	Wodehouse, P. G.	Lord Emsworth and Others	The Letter of the Law (aka Not Out of Distance)		1936	Oldest Member
J	1937	Wodehouse, P. G.	Lord Emsworth and Others	The Masked Troubadour		1936	Drone Freddie Widgeon
J	1940	Wodehouse, P. G.	Eggs, Beans and Crumpets	All's Well with Bingo		1937	Drones Bingo Little, Oofy Prosser
J	1959	Wodehouse, P. G.	A Few Quick Ones	The Fat of the Land		1958	Drone Freddie Widgeon
K	1820	Irving, Washington	The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.	The Legend of Sleepy Hollow		1820
K	1846	Hawthorne, Nathaniel	Mosses from an Old Manse	Mrs. Bullfrog		1846
K	1911	Saki (H.H. Munro)	The Chronicles of Clovis	The Secret Sin Of Septimus Brope		1911	Clovis Sangrail
K	1920	Chester, George Randolph	The Best American Humorous Short Stories	Bargain Day at Tutt House		1905
K	1929	Lardner, Ring	Round Up: The Stories of Ring W. Lardner	Liberty Hall		1924
K	1929	Lardner, Ring	Round Up: The Stories of Ring W. Lardner	Mr. and Mrs. Fix-it		1929
Group	Year	Author	Book Name	Short Story Title	GEM!	Year-orig	Recurring Character(s)	Wikipedia	E-story	Audiobook	More