These stories have accumulated over the years, and have become fictions rather than memoirs, transformed by a novelist's inability to stick to the truth. The characters appear in each others' stories, giving a picture of an entire community and a beautiful landscape.

Millions of readers around the world have relished Jeffrey Archer's short stories. Taking inspiration from his favourite short story writers - F. Scott Fitzgerald, Maupassant, H.H. Munro, W. Somerset Maugham and O. Henry - Jeffrey Archer presents this sixth collection of stories. Originally published: London: Macmillan6

This is the second volume of short stories from the bestselling author of Midnight is a Lonely Place and Lady of Hay. There are over 30 stories, most contemporary, some historical, some spooky or humorous, many of them love stories.

The stories in this collection all deal with psychological aspects of love - love given and withheld, love craved and lost, and love met and disappointed.

In these short stories, some of which have been lost for decades and are collected here for the first time, du Maurier displays to full effect her remarkable imagination.

Twenty-one marvellously inventive stories by Carnegie Medal-winning author Margaret Mahy, starting with 'The Horrible Story', about a boy whose chilling tales terrify two older boys. The other stories in this collection include 'The Curiosity Concert', 'The Strange Egg', 'The Girl Who Loved Cars', 'The Little Boy Who Wanted a Flat World', and 'Chocolate Porridge' - which gets eaten by a very unusual guest at Timothy's house!.

Ever since he made his first appearance in A Study In Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes has enthralled and delighted millions of fans throughout the world. Now Arthur Conan Doyle's complete works - four novels and five collections of short stories - has been brought to life by Stephen Fry, a lifelong fan of Doyle's detective fiction, in this The Definitive Collection. In addition, Stephen has written and narrated nine insightful, intimate and deeply personal...

Deception, blackmail, murder and revenge - these are the themes of stories that move from London to the Spanish coast, from Mauritius to Dublin. Whether his subject is assassination or confidence tricks, Frederick Forsyth is always compulsive. Originally published: London: Hutchinson, 1982

In Piranha to Scurfy, Ruth Rendell deals with a variety of themes, some macabre, some vengeful, some mysterious, and all precisely observed.

When a thin, pale boy called Lambert claims he's the rightful heir to the throne, King Henry VII is furious in 'The Prince, The Cook and the Cunning King'. In 'The Thief, The Fool and the Big Fat King', James and his parents aim to challenge King Henry VIII - and win. 'The Maid, the Witch and the Cruel Queen' tells of 'Bloody' Queen Mary who burns her enemies at the stake and Old Nan the 'witch' who is far too clever to be burned, while 'The Actor,...