Short Story Classics (American) Vol. 2

In Short

This collection gathers twelve short stories by varied American authors, documenting the social and psychological textures of the post-Civil War era. The narratives shift from the brutal precision of military command to the rugged, unpredictable morality of the Far West and the refined anxieties of New England society. Because these works anchor their drama in the specific customs and regional dialects of their time, they serve as a vital, unvarnished record of American life. They remain compelling because they explore universal human weaknesses—pride, longing, and the desire for social recognition—with unflinching clarity.

The Story

The collection opens with the harsh reality of "The Brigade Commander," where a ruthless but effective officer earns the fanatical devotion of his soldiers simply by leading them to victory. The narrative tone then pivots toward the intricate personal lives of the urban and rural gentry. In "Who Was She?", a man of status and means finds himself caught in a web of his own making after placing a lonely-heart advertisement, leading to an encounter with a mysterious, aging messenger that leaves his romantic expectations unsettled.

The theme of performance and deception continues in "Mademoiselle Olympe Zabriski," where a wealthy socialite, Van Twiller, showers a stage performer with gifts, only to discover the "performer" is a man named Charles Montmorenci Walters who has been living a double life to make ends meet. The focus then shifts to "A Good-for-Nothing," an examination of a young man born into privilege who, feeling misunderstood, lashes out by proposing to several women at once just to test their reactions, ultimately facing a stark confrontation with a woman who sees through his vanity to his true, unformed character.

The American West provides a rugged backdrop for "The Idyl of Red Gulch," where a schoolteacher’s encounter with a local drunkard, Sandy, forces a collision between her refined sensibilities and the raw, unpredictable nature of the frontier. This spirit of adventure and danger is mirrored in "The Denver Express," a taut tale involving a railroad station agent and a girl who alerts the authorities to a planned train robbery. Their quick thinking and cooperation with the military lead to a confrontation that preserves order in a lawless territory.

The stories also delve into the private lives of the marginalized, as seen in "Ole 'Stracted," which reflects on the displacement and economic struggles of formerly enslaved families living on land once owned by their masters. The collection concludes by examining the lives of expatriates and officials in "Our Consul at Carlsruhe," tracing the life of a man whose brilliant legal career and early marriage eventually lead to a quiet, melancholic existence abroad. Throughout these diverse accounts, the arc of the collection moves from the grand, violent theater of the battlefield and the frontier to the quiet, introspective chambers of the human heart, where the ultimate victories and defeats are personal, private, and enduring.

How It Unfolds

The military crucible The reader is introduced to the battlefield, where soldiers follow a commander not out of love, but out of a pragmatic respect for his lethal efficiency. The rhythm of the march is punctuated by the sudden, terrifying arrival of artillery shells and the disciplined, mechanical response of the men to the deaths of their comrades.

The search for connection The narrative shifts to the leisure class, where men of standing attempt to curate their romantic lives through public advertisements. These efforts at finding a "soulmate" are met with mysterious, guarded responses that highlight the isolation beneath the social surface of the era.

The collision of worlds The setting moves to the frontier and the rural South, where schoolteachers and laborers confront the reality of their surroundings. Here, the rigid moral codes of Eastern society are tested by the presence of drunks, the poverty of displaced families, and the unspoken hierarchies of race and class.

The final reckoning The collection closes with individuals reflecting on their paths, whether through the lens of a failed romantic dream or the slow, quiet erosion of a life spent in foreign service. The stories end not with grand resolutions, but with a sense of resignation, as characters accept the limitations imposed by their circumstances and their own past choices.

The People

The characters in this volume are often defined by the gap between how they wish to be perceived and the reality of their internal lives. The Colonel in "The Brigade Commander" represents the cold, effective authority of the military, a figure who commands fear and respect because he provides the one thing his men crave: success. In contrast, the nameless protagonist of "Who Was She?" is a man of "adolescent warmth" at thirty-three, seeking a romantic ideal while terrified of the "cryptic mysteries" of true emotional vulnerability.

Van Twiller, the subject of "Mademoiselle Olympe Zabriski," stands as a caricature of the wealthy elite who believes his status allows him to treat life as a performance, only to be humbled by the revelation of Walters’s own performance. Ralph Grim is perhaps the most complex of these figures, a man so alienated by his own privilege that he uses his romantic prospects as a weapon, yet who remains desperate for a shred of validation from the woman he scorns. Finally, Joyce Basil in "Crutch, the Page" embodies a different kind of strength; despite her role as a "beautiful scullion" in a house of pretense, she possesses a natural grace that transcends her menial labor, serving as a silent, powerful contrast to the social posturing of the men around her.

In Its Own Voice

"If a man will win battles and give his brigade a right to brag loudly of its doings, he may have its admiration and even its enthusiastic devotion, though he be as pitiless and as wicked as Lucifer."

The narrator of "The Brigade Commander" observes that military success often masks the moral failings of those in charge.

"I want to find the woman whom I can love--who can love me. But this is a masquerade where the features are hidden, the voice disguised, even the hands grotesquely gloved."

The lonely protagonist in "Who Was She?" writes this confession in a desperate attempt to bypass the social norms that prevent genuine intimacy.

"The Mademoiselle Zabriski dodg is about Plaid out. my beard is getting to much for me."

The performer Charles Montmorenci Walters explains his exit from the stage in a blunt, ungrammatical letter that shatters Van Twiller's romantic illusions.

What It's Really About

At its core, this collection investigates the tension between performance and authenticity in American society. Whether it is a brigade commander playing the role of a hero, a socialite playing the role of a benefactor, or an individual playing the role of a suitor, these stories suggest that Americans of this era were deeply concerned with the "mask" they presented to the world. The collection also grapples with the lingering trauma of the Civil War and the shifting social structures that followed it. It asks whether true connection is possible when status, economic necessity, and rigid social codes force individuals to navigate their lives through a series of tactical maneuvers rather than honest, unmediated action.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate the dense, descriptive prose of the late nineteenth century will find much to admire in these pages. There is a particular pleasure in seeing how these authors navigate the transition from the grand, national narrative of the war to the intimate, sometimes petty concerns of private life. The pacing is deliberate, reflecting a time when storytelling valued character study and environmental detail over rapid-fire plot.

However, a modern reader should be prepared for the period attitudes embedded in the text. The dialogue often employs regional dialects that can be challenging to parse, and the depictions of race, class, and gender roles reflect the prejudices of the late 1800s. These are not modern stories, and they do not attempt to be. Instead, they offer a window into the American psyche at the turn of the century—a mind grappling with the rapid loss of the frontier, the hardening of social hierarchies, and the persistent, quiet ache of individuals trying to find their place in a country that is constantly reinventing itself. Reading this volume feels like leafing through a well-worn family album; it is occasionally uncomfortable, deeply human, and offers a resonant, authentic echo of a time that shaped the world we inhabit now.