In society, the nature of death and humanity's awareness of its own mortality has for millennia been a concern of the world's religious traditions and of philosophical inquiry. Literature has also been a tool for speaking and reflecting on the great mystery of life.Join us in these seven short stories specially selected by the critic August Nemo:- The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin- A Dead Woman's Secret by Guy De Maupassant- The Sisters by James Joyce- The Boarded Window by Ambrose Bierce- The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy- Odour of Chrysanthemums by D. H. Lawrence- Laura by SakiFor more books with interesting themes, be sure to check the other books in this collection!

Kate Chopin (born Katherine O'Flaherty; February 8, 1850 August 22, 1904) was an American author of short stories and novels based in Louisiana. She is now considered by some scholars to have been a forerunner of American 20th-century feminist authors of Southern or Catholic background, such as Zelda Fitzgerald. Within a decade of her death, Chopin was widely recognized as one of the leading writers of her time.Guy de Maupassant is famous for his short stories, which paint a fascinating picture of French life in the 19th century. He was prolific, publishing over 300 short stories and six novels, but died at a young age after ongoing struggles with both physical and mental health.James Joyce (2 February 1882 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, short story writer, poet, teacher, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde and is regarded as one of the most influential and important authors of the 20th century. Joyce is best known for Ulysses (1922), a landmark work in which the episodes of Homer's Odyssey are paralleled in a variety of literary styles, most famously stream of consciousness.Ambrose Bierce was born on June 24, 1842 in Meigs county, Ohio. He worked as a printer's apprentice and enlisted to fight in the Civil War. After the war he worked as an editor, journalist, and short story writer; capturing his war experiences in vivid detail. In 1913 he went to Mexico, then in the midst of a revolution led by Pancho Villa. He disappeared sometime in 1914.Leo Tolstoy, (born August 28, 1828, Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, Russian Empiredied November 7, 1910, Astapovo, Ryazan province), Russian author, a master of realistic fiction and one of the world's greatest novelists.David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 2 March 1930) was an English writer and poet. His collected works represent, among other things, an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation. Some of the issues Lawrence explores are sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity, and instinct.Born in Burma (now Myanmar) in 1870, H.H. Munro worked as a journalist before gaining fame as a short story writer under the pen name "Saki." His works, which include the classic stories "Tobermory" and "The Open Window," offer a satirical commentary on Edwardian society and culture.