Stories by American Authors

A series overview

The ten-volume Stories by American Authors series was published by Charles Scribner’s Sons from 1884 to 1885. Each volume contains five or six short stories or novellas by 19th-century American authors. Most of the selections are reprinted from literary magazines of the day, like Scribner’s Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Century Magazine, and Overland Monthly. It’s probably safe to say that all these stories were written between the end of the Civil War and the series publication date. There might be one or two from earlier decades.

Here at Old Books by Dead Guys I have previously reviewed the Stories by Foreign Authors series, which Scribner’s Sons published in 1898. I have yet to tackle the Stories by English Authors series of 1896. These two later series make a definite attempt to include the work of some of the best or at least most renowned authors of their day. The Stories by American Authors series, on the other hand, seems to have been published with a different rationale in mind. If I had to guess, I would say the series served as a sort of dumping ground for short fiction by authors that Scribner’s didn’t feel merited their own solo collections. As a result, the quality of the selections is disappointing when compared to the Foreign series. Still, every now and then one stumbles upon a buried treasure. All ten volumes have been reviewed individually here at Old Books by Dead Guys. Click on the links below to read the complete reviews.

1. Stories by American Authors, Volume I
2. Stories by American Authors, Volume II
3. Stories by American Authors, Volume III
4. Stories by American Authors, Volume IV
5. Stories by American Authors, Volume V
6. Stories by American Authors, Volume VI
7. Stories by American Authors, Volume VII
8. Stories by American Authors, Volume VIII
9. Stories by American Authors, Volume IX
10. Stories by American Authors, Volume X

Altogether the ten volumes contain 57 stories by 53 authors. The vast majority of their names will be unrecognizable to today’s readers. The few exceptions are Henry James, Edward Bellamy, Rebecca Harding Davis, and Frances Hodgson Burnett. There’s no rhyme or reason to the arrangement of the volumes; each one is just a grab bag. It would have been interesting if they had pitted the various American literary scenes against one another—New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, etc.—but no such luck.

These books are in the public domain and can be read online and downloaded for free at various sources, including Amazon and Project Gutenberg. After my less-than-glowing review, perhaps you’re not exactly fired up about reading through these ten volumes? Relax, you don’t have to, because Old Books by Dead Guys has already done it for you! Below is a list of the eight best stories in the series. Why only eight? Because, unlike the Foreign Authors series, I really had to stretch to find selections worthy of notice.

“Lost in the Fog” by Noah Brooks
from Stories by American Authors, Volume IV
A routine boat trip on the California coast turns into a two-day ordeal when the vessel drifts into a thick fog bank. When it finally emerges from the haze, the crew makes a startling discovery on shore. This story starts out slow, but the latter half is fascinating.

“A Memorable Murder” by Celia Thaxter
from Stories by American Authors, Volume III
I’m not sure if this is fiction or true crime, but it sure reads like the latter. Thaxter gives an In Cold Blood-style account of the killing of two Norwegian immigrant women on an island near Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

“The Heartbreak Cameo” by Lizzie W. Champney
from Stories by American Authors, Volume VI
An expert jeweler discovers a beautiful gemstone carved into an exquisite cameo. The back story of this gem involves a 17th-century missionary stationed in a Native American village in Illinois. A great piece of historical fiction.

“Split Zephyr” by Henry A. Beers
from Stories by American Authors, Volume VIII
On commencement night, five Yale graduates discuss their future plans. A look at their lives 15 years later reveals the difference between aspirations and reality. A thought-provoking piece on the elusive nature of happiness.

“Brother Sebastian’s Friendship” by Harold Frederic
from Stories by American Authors, Volume VI
This story, set in the 1870s, is narrated by a French monk. Brother Sebastian, a misanthropic sort who has always avoided human contact, relates the story of the one meaningful friendship in his life. Culminates in a surprise ending that’s truly surprising.

“The Ablest Man in the World” by E. P. Mitchell
from Stories by American Authors, Volume X
An American traveler in Switzerland, mistaken for a doctor, is forced to attend to an ailing Russian baron. While examining his “patient,” he makes a startling discovery. A visionary work of sci-fi that’s decades ahead of its time.

“Lost” by Edward Bellamy
from Stories by American Authors, Volume VII
An American student in Germany falls in love with a local girl, only to forget her upon returning to the states. Seven years later he wakes up and realizes she was the love of his life, so he returns to Europe to track her down. An engaging tale from Bellamy, author of Looking Backward.

“Yatil” by F. D. Millet

from Stories by American Authors, Volume V

An artist strikes up an unlikely friendship with a circus performer, and the two cross paths repeatedly in different parts of the globe. The performer struggles through a hard life with plucky perseverance, even though he considers himself cursed with an ill omen.

Check in a year from now, and I’ll likely have a recap of the Stories by English Authors series.

Stories by American Authors, Volume X by T. A. Janvier, et al.

Series ends on a high note

E. P. Mitchell

This is the tenth and final volume in the Stories by American Authors series published by Charles Scribner’s Sons from 1884 to 1885. The series showcases a grab bag of short fiction from a variety of American writers, the vast majority of whom have since been forgotten. Overall, I’ve been disappointed with the quality of the selections. Even those who ordinarily enjoy 19th-century fiction may find many of the stories to be dull and uninspired. However, the series does have its treasures buried here and there, Volume X more than most.

The first story, “Pancha” by T. A. Janvier, is set in Monterey, Mexico. The title character is a poor young woman who falls in love with the dashing leader of a gang of smugglers. The narrative combines the quaint familiarity of a folk tale with the exaggerated romantic melodrama of an opera. Janvier depicts working-class Mexican life in a realistic manner that’s free of first-world condescension. The biggest surprise in the book is “The Ablest Man in the World” by E. P. Mitchell. An American traveler in Baden, Switzerland is mistaken for a doctor and forced to attend to an ailing Russian baron. From there the story moves into science fiction territory best left unrevealed. “Young Moll’s Peevy” by C. A. Stephens is a Jack Londonesque tale about an enormous log jam on a Canadian river. When conventional methods to free the jam prove unsuccessful, the lumbermen must resort to drastic measures. Charles de Kay’s “Manmat’ha” is a delightfully bizarre yarn in which the narrator, out for a hike along the New Jersey coast, comes into contact with an invisible being. Like Mitchell’s story, this one takes you in directions you’d never expect for 19th century literature. Yet another strong entry is “The Story of Two Lives” by Julia Schayer. In a small western town, a young girl notifies her parents of a brief conversation she had with a tramp who has wandered into the neighborhood. The married couple are obviously disturbed, as if they fear this stranger may be a visitor from their distant past. This story resembles one of the intricate, moving backstories one finds in a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle murder mystery, only without the murder. Each of these five selections is founded on an interesting premise, and all exhibit fine storytelling, yet each is kept from perfection by too much flowery, poetic prose—so appreciated by the readers of a bygone era—that only serves to hinder clarity and deaden excitement.

The one weak entry in the collection is H. H. Boyesen’s “A Daring Fiction.” An American student in Leipzig is hosted by a German family with three marriageable daughters, who all compete for his attention. To cool their ardor, he invents a fictional fiancée named Miss Jones. Imagine his surprise when, the next time he shows up at their door, they have discovered a Miss Jones whom they presume to be his betrothed. This is the one comic effort in the book, and, as is too often the case in this series, the humor has not survived the intervening century intact.

There are no masterpieces here, but some good solid storytelling. A few of the authors included, like Janvier, Mitchell, and Stephens, prove themselves worthy of further investigation. Volume X is one of the best volumes in the Stories by American Authors series, along with Volumes III and VI. If you think you might be interested in this series, but not sure you want to commit to ten books, start with one of these three and see how you like it.

Stories in this collection

Pancha by T. A. Janvier 

The Ablest Man in the World by E. P. Mitchell 

Young Moll’s Peevy by C. A. Stephens 

Manmat’ha by Charles de Kay 

A Daring Fiction by H. H. Boyesen 

The Story of Two Lives by Julia Schayer

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Stories by American Authors, Volume IX by Thomas Nelson Page, et al.

Nothing to write home about

Thomas Nelson Page

This is the ninth volume in the Stories by American Authors series published by Charles Scribner’s Sons from 1884 to 1885. I haven’t been pleased with the series as a whole, though I’m toughing it out until the end in hopes of uncovering the occasional buried treasure. While Scribner’s Stories by Foreign Authors and Stories by English Authors series feature some of the world’s greatest authors, it seems the American series was primarily conceived as a dumping ground for a host of unknowns who weren’t worthy of their own solo collections. Needless to say, I approached Volume IX with low expectations.

The best entry in the book, simply by the process of elimination, is its opening selection, Thomas Nelson Page’s “Marse Chan: A Tale of Old Virginia.” It’s a Civil War-era love story of a young plantation master and his steadfast devotion to a Southern belle from the neighboring estate. Narrated by a former servant of the hero, the story is transcribed in a heavy Southern black accent, like what you might find in some of the works of Mark Twain or Charles W. Chesnutt. For its day, it’s not overtly racist, and it makes for an engaging tale, if a bit predictable.

Nothing else in the collection really satisfies. “Mr. Bixby’s Christmas Visitor” by Charles S. Page is an attempt at an Edgar Allen Poe-style tale of the macabre, but ends up coming across as merely foolish. “Eli” by C. H. White is a New England courtroom drama that doesn’t make much sense from a legal standpoint, and the bank robbery around which it’s centered makes for a terrible mystery. “Young Strong of ‘The Clarion’” by Milicent Washburn Shinn shows some promise at first. In a small town in California the shifty local judge and the young newspaper editor find themselves at odds over the hiring of a new schoolteacher. Of course, a love story develops between the newspaper man and the school marm, leading the two to analyze the nature of love in tedious, poetic dialogue that no two actual human beings would ever utter. “How Old Wiggins Wore Ship” by Captain Ronald T. Coffin is an adequate seafaring yarn, penned in a thick sea-dog patois. Heavy on the nautical jargon, it’s plot is primarily concerned with the raising and lowering of sails. In the final selection, Leonard Kip’s “—mas Has Come,” a city slicker falls in love with the daughter of a lighthouse keeper on a remote stretch of coast. Though it strives to be clever, it ends with a predictable punchline that inspires groans of annoyance. The narrator/leading man, so likeable for most of the story, ends up looking like a boob in the end.

This is almost the worst volume in a very mediocre series (Volume II just barely wins that dubious distinction). There’s nothing offensively terrible here, but nothing worth spending your time on either. With one volume left in the series, I’m hoping it will end with a bang rather than a whimper, but if this penultimate volume is any indication, I won’t hold out much hope.

Stories in this collection

Marse Chan by Thomas Nelson Page 

Mr. Bixby’s Christmas Visitor by Charles S. Gage 

Eli by C. H. White 

Young Strong of “The Clarion” by Milicent Washburn Shinn 

How Old Wiggins Wore Ship by Captain Roland T. Coffin 

“—mas Has Come” by Leonard Kip

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Stories by American Authors, Volume VIII by J. W. DeForest, et al.

The goods outweigh the bads, just barely

Henry A. Beers

This is the eighth installment in the ten-volume series Stories by American Authors, published by Charles Scribner’s sons in 1884. It consists of five short stories that were originally published in magazines like Century, Putnam’s, and Harper’s. The vast majority of authors featured in the Stories by American Authors series are unknown to today’s readers, and you won’t find any household names in Volume VIII. The quality of the overall series has been spotty at best, and this collection continues the trend. Of the five stories included here, one is excellent, two are pretty good, and the remaining two you could do without.

Despite its pretentious title, “Split Zephyr: An Attenuated Yarn Spun by the Fates” by Henry A. Beers is the best story in the book, and one of the best so far in the series. On commencement night, five Yale graduates discuss their future plans. Four classmates, conveniently initialed A, B, C, and D, spell out their intentions to the narrator, Frank Polisson. Fifteen years later he checks up on them to see what they’ve made of their lives. It’s a thought-provoking piece on the elusive nature of happiness. The message is a simple one, but meaningful even for today’s reader. The characters are admirably well-sketched, and their engaging life stories offer an intriguing glimpse into the options available to a gentleman of the 19th century.

Another promising selection in the book is “Zerviah Hope” by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, about a mysterious New Yorker who volunteers to nurse the sick in a remote South Carolina town stricken by an epidemic of fever. The story is quite riveting until the end, when it turns into a religious tract. “The Life-Magnet” by Alvey A. Adee fares better. An American student, spending a hiatus in Freiberg, Saxony, meets a scientist who claims to have discovered a means to chemically isolate the human life force. It’s a crafty bit of old-school science fiction, though unfortunately marred by a confusing ending and a rather dim-witted hero.

Two pieces remain at the bottom of the barrel. J. W. DeForest’s “The Brigade Commander” takes place during the Civil War. It opens with some interesting human drama, but that storyline is soon abandoned in favor of a tedious military history narrative replete with artillery movements and flanking maneuvers. Wargame enthusiasts might enjoy it, but it’s definitely not my cup of tea. The book closes with its worst selection, “Osgood’s Predicament” by Elizabeth D. B. Stoddard. This meandering melodrama concerns a man of limited means who is supported by his wealthy aunt and uncle. After becoming engaged to a high-class woman he’ll never be able to comfortably support, he regrets his decision and runs away to Cape Cod. None of the characters are particularly appealing, so the reader couldn’t care less.

As a whole, the Stories by American Authors series has failed to impress. Nevertheless, this is one of the better books in the series so far, placing third behind volumes III and VI. At the very least, those interested in 19th-century literature will likely find the Beers and Adee selections to be worthwhile reading.

Stories in this collection

The Brigade Commander by J. W. DeForest 

Split Zephyr by Henry A. Beers 

Zerviah Hope by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps 

The Life-Magnet by Alvey A. Adee 

Osgood’s Predicament by Elizabeth D. B. Stoddard

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Stories by American Authors, Volume VII by Octave Thanet, et al.

Bellamy & Co.

Edward Bellamy

This is the seventh book in the ten-volume series Stories by American Authors, published by Charles Scribner’s Sons from 1884 to 1885. Unlike Scribner’s other two series, Stories by Foreign Authors and Stories by English Authors, which were sort of “greatest hits” collections of 19th-century authors, the American series mostly consists of upcoming authors of the period who have long since faded into obscurity. This particular collection contains one notable exception: Edward Bellamy, the author of Looking Backward, one of the three bestselling American novels of its century. I’m not a great fan of that novel, but Bellamy’s entry here, entitled “Lost,” is clearly the best selection in Volume VII. An American, studying in Germany, falls in love with a local girl. When he departs for the U.S., he promises he will return someday to make her his bride. Seven years later, after having forgotten her, he wakes up and realizes that she was the love of his life. He heads back to Germany, finds her whereabouts are unknown, and begins an arduous hunt to track her down. Though the story contains its fair share of 19th-century chauvinism, the chase is exciting and it inspires readers to consider their own lost loves and missed opportunities.

One thing that’s surprising about the Stories by American Authors series as a whole is the attention that it pays to women authors. In Volume VII, four out of the six authors included are women. For its time, that’s admirably progressive on the part of the publisher, but unfortunately none of the four included here really offer up anything memorable. Octave Thanet’s entry, “The Bishop’s Vagabond” is an example of a genre which often shows up in this series, in which an erudite writer condescendingly examines a member of the lower classes as if they were a guinea pig in a sociological experiment. In this case the protagonist is a poor white man from South Carolina referred to as a “cracker.” “Kirby’s Coals of Fire” by Louise Stockton is similar fare, in which a theology student takes a ride on a riverboat in order to learn about the human nature of the unwashed masses. In the process, he’s treated to a humorous folk tale. Margaret Floyd’s “Passages from the Journal of a Social Wreck” is an interesting piece that provides some insight into the social conventions of the period. An educated gentleman is driven by financial desperation to take a job as a professional party guest. It starts out pretty entertaining, but becomes utterly predictable by its conclusion. Rounding out the roll call of female writers is Virginia W. Johnson, whose “The Image of San Donato” is a rather dreary and unpleasant soap opera concerning a young girl who has a religious vision which inspires her to prevent her mother from having an affair with an Italian count.

Speaking of soap operas, James T. McKay, the remaining dude in the mix, gives us a doozy with “Stella Grayland.” A doctor has maintained a longtime friendship with an attractive woman whom he knows to be shallow, manipulative, and perhaps even of loose morals. Yet when her father dies, leaving her without support, he marries her out of a sense of obligation. Trapped in a hellish marriage, he can’t help falling in love with another woman. The result is just depressing all the way through.

Overall, the Stories by American Authors series has been a disappointment, with the exception of a couple good volumes (numbers III and VI). I was hoping to be impressed by a few unfamiliar authors, but the relatively well-known Bellamy is the only one who stands out in this book.

Stories in this collection

The Bishop’s Vagabond by Octave Thanet 

Lost by Edward Bellamy 

Kirby’s Coals of Fire by Louise Stockton 

Passages from the Journal of a Social Wreck by Margaret Floyd 

Stella Grayland by James T. McKay 

The Image of San Donato by Virginia W. Johnson

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Stories by American Authors, Volume VI by C. H. White, et al.

Not bad for six 19th-century unknowns

Harold Frederic

This collection of short stories is the sixth volume in the Stories by American Authors series, published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1884. Overall the series has been a bit disappointing, but this is one of the better volumes so far, along with Volume III. The stories represent the kind of literature one would be likely to encounter in the popular literary magazines of the late 19th century. The six authors included here have since faded into obscurity and are likely to be unknown to today’s readers, with the possible exception of Harold Frederic, author of the novel The Damnation of Theron Ware. Frederic’s entry is one of the three strong selections in the book, which are accompanied by three more mediocre offerings.

“The Denver Express” by A. A. Hayes is one of the winners in the collection. Uncharacteristic of the series, it has few literary pretensions. It’s just a good, old-fashioned Western adventure—not of the cowboys and Indians type, but the railroad and cavalry type. Major Sinclair, a railroad employee, is sent to frontier Colorado to manage a station. There he runs afoul of a gang of local ruffians and gamblers. Hayes’s storytelling can be a bit confusing at times, but otherwise it’s good fun.

The best story in the book is “The Heartbreak Cameo” by Lizzie W. Champney. A jewelry expert discovers a beautiful gemstone exquisitely carved into a unique cameo. The origin story of this remarkable stone takes the reader back to a 17th-century Native American village in Illinois, where an ambitious French missionary with a lust for precious stones meets a simple-minded Indian maiden who knows where to find them. This is a great piece of historical fiction that keeps the reader guessing until the very end.

Coming in a close second is Frederic’s tale, “Brother Sebastian’s Friendship.” This story, narrated by a French monk, is set in the 1870s. Brother Sebastian is a solitary and misanthropic sort who has lived an intentionally lonely life but for one meaningful friendship. Here he relates the story of that singular friendship, which culminates in a shocking revelation. Frederic delivers a beautifully crafted tale that’s constantly engaging and suspenseful. This is one case where the surprise ending is truly a surprise.

The other three stories included in this volume are run-of-the-mill fare of the period. In C. H. White’s “The Village Convict,” a young man, after serving prison time for burning down the barn of a man who angered him, returns to his hometown and works to forge a new life in small-town society. “The Misfortunes of Bro’ Thomas Wheatley” by Lina Redwood Fairfax, is a character study of an aged black man who works as an “office-boy and messenger” for a white business firm. Labor riots in Baltimore contribute to the story. Albert Webster’s story “Miss Eunice’s Glove” concerns an unmarried young woman who decides to make a charitable visit to a local prison and ends up getting in deeper than she planned.

Overall, for those who are into 19th-century American literature, this is a pretty good collection of short fiction. The Hayes, Champney, and Frederic stories alone are worth a download. As for the other three selections, you can take ‘em or leave ‘em.

Stories in this collection

The Village Convict by C. H. White

The Denver Express by A. A. Hayes 

The Misfortunes of Bro’ Thomas Wheatley by Lina Redwood Fairfax 

The Heartbreak Cameo by Lizzie W. Champney 

Miss Eunice’s Glove by Albert Webster 

Brother Sebastian’s Friendship by Harold Frederic

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Stories by American Authors, Volume V by Henry James, et al.

Four out of five fail to impress

F.D. Millet

This is the fifth book in the ten-volume Stories by American Authors series published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1884. It opens with a selection by Henry James, who is easily the most famous author included in the series. Somehow I’ve managed to get this far in life without reading any Henry James, so I don’t have any basis for comparison, but based on his reputation alone I’m guessing his story “A Light Man” is not one of his better works. The narrator of the piece reunites with a former classmate who is serving as a secretary to an aged man of wealth. After moving in with the rich geezer, both old friends begin to compete for his affection and imminent bequest. There are some opportunities for suspense here, but James mostly squanders them in favor of pretentious verbosity. The result is too much description and not enough plot.

The second entry fares much better. In “Yatil” by F.D. Millet, an artist makes the acquaintance of a circus performer whose nickname serves as the story’s title. Their paths coincidentally cross in Turin, Paris, and New York. While the artist/narrator leads a relatively secure and comfortable existence, the performer lives a pathetic life of hardship. Nevertheless, his optimistic perseverance is quite touching. There’s some unnecessary digression into Yatil’s personal superstitions, but as a whole you really feel for the guy and become personally invested in his struggles.

“The End of New York” by Park Benjamin could best be described as a “What if?” story. Written in 1881, it foreshadows the Spanish-American War of 1898. A diplomatic incident ignites conflict between Spain and the U.S. which leads to a Spanish naval attack on American shores. New York City is bombarded by the heavy guns of the Spaniards, while the outclassed American military is powerless to stop it. Benjamin, a former Navy man, intended this story to serve as a warning of the inadequacy of the U.S. fleet. The story is an interesting historical artifact of its time, but Benjamin’s preoccupation with the details of armaments and munitions deadens the plot. This novella-length work is by far the longest piece in this collection, and it feels totally out of place in a literary anthology.

Usually the weakest links in these collections are the humorous stories, and this volume is no exception. Nineteenth-century humor just hasn’t held up well over the years. George Arnold’s “Why Thomas Was Discharged” is a formulaic romantic romp in which two foppish idlers attempt to woo a pair of beauties at a beachside resort. It’s pleasant enough, but too long and drawn out for such frivolous subject matter. In “The Tachypomp: A Mathematical Demonstration” by E.P. Mitchell, an underachieving student tries to win the hand of his mathematics professor’s daughter. In order to do so, his prospective father-in-law requires him to solve a seemingly impossible math problem. There’s some fun bits along the way, but Mitchell tries too hard to be clever and ultimately the story gets bogged down in mathematical jargon.

This fifth installment of Stories by American Authors is indicative of the series as whole so far, which consistently fails to impress—except for Volume III, which was pretty good. This overview of late nineteenth-century American fiction is particularly disappointing when you compare it to Scribner’s 1898 series Stories by Foreign Authors, which is far better overall. I’m only halfway through the American series, however, so it still has five volumes left to prove to me it hasn’t been a waste of time. Hopefully, it will redeem itself in its latter half.

Stories in this collection

A Light Man by Henry James

Yatil by F.D. Millet 

The End of New York by Park Benjamin 

Why Thomas Was Discharged by George Arnold 

The Tachypomp by E.P. Mitchell

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Stories by American Authors, Volume IV by Constance Fenimore Woolson, et al.

Mostly mediocre, with one standout

Noah Brooks

This collection of six short stories is the fourth volume in the Stories by American Authors series published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1884. The series as a whole provides an overview of American fiction in the late 19th century and includes many authors that today’s readers are unlikely to have heard of. In this fourth volume, the only name recognizable to me is Constance Fenimore Woolson, the grandniece of author James Fenimore Cooper. The first and second books in this series were terrible, while the third volume was surprisingly very good. Volume IV is a return towards mediocrity, with the exception of one excellent entry.

The book opens with Woolson’s selection, entitled “Miss Grief.” A successful young writer receives frequent visits from a mysterious woman who exhibits signs of poverty. Fearing she’s seeking charity, he avoids her calls, but eventually she catches up with him. When he finally makes her acquaintance, he discovers that she’s an aspiring author who wants him to read her writings. The story is engaging enough to keep you wondering what happens next, but when it’s over you simply wonder what’s the point. “Love in Old Cloathes” by H. C. Bunner is a predictable tale of a man of limited promise attempting to woo a beautiful woman who is promised to another man. What sets it apart from typical fare is that it’s written in the first person in a heavy dialect complete with grammar and spelling errors. This gets annoying at times, but also has its charms. “Two Buckets in a Well” by N. P. Willis is about a promising young painter who, at the urging of his beloved, gives up his artistic aspirations and devotes his energies to the family business. It has a pretentious verbosity to it that values unnecessary ornateness of language over clear and compelling storytelling, exemplifying what’s wrong with much of American fiction written during this time period. J. W. DeForest’s “An Inspired Lobbyist” is the obligatory comic relief of the volume. As with the previous volumes, the laughs have not held up well over the intervening century. It’s a political satire about a state with two alternating capital cities, though it’s unclear why anyone would take the time to satirize a political situation that doesn’t exist.

Half of the book is taken up by its longest selection, “Friend Barton’s Concern” by Mary Hallock Foote. A Quaker farmer goes off on a preaching tour, leaving his wife and daughter to run the farm. In her father’s absence, the daughter experiences her first love. This piece is long, boring, and predictable, with lots of “thees” and “thys” in the dialogue. It’s unfortunate that so many pages are devoted to it.

Thankfully, the volume ends on a high note with an excellent story, “Lost in the Fog” by Noah Brooks. Two inexperienced seamen accompany the captain of a boat full of butter and eggs on a routine six hour trip from Bolinas to San Francisco. The wind dies, however, and the boat drifts for two days in a thick fog. When they finally emerge from the clouds and reach land, the crew makes an unexpected discovery. Brooks’s approach to storytelling is primarily naturalistic, marking this tale as a precursor to the San Francisco stories of Jack London and Frank Norris. While admittedly the fog bank gets a little boring, the second half of the story is fascinating. The whole point of reading this sort of grab-bag series is in the hope of finding a buried treasure like this one. In fact, Brooks’s well-told tale is the only one here that’s truly worth reading. I would suggest you just skip the other five and enjoy it.

Stories in this collection

Miss Grief by Constance Fenimore Woolson 

Love in Old Cloathes by H. C. Bunner 

Two Buckets in a Well by N. P. Willis 

Friend Barton’s Concern by Mary Hallock Foote 

An Inspired Lobbyist by J. W. DeForest 

Lost in the Fog by Noah Brooks

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