The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky
4 hrs to read
Having lost all his money at roulette, Dostoevsky made one final wager: he bet a predatory publisher that he could deliver a novel in one year or he would forfeit the rights to all past and future works. Dostoevsky would wait until the final month before writing The Gambler in just 26 days.
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Interested in the full story behind the creation of The Gambler? Check out Dostoevsky: The Gambler (8 mins) on our blog!
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
3 hrs to read / 24 mins avg. short story length
This classic short story collection is set in the Indian jungle and follows Mowgli, a feral boy raised by wolves, and his relationships with the other animals.
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A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift
13 mins to read
Published in 1729, Swift suggested that the poor should butcher and sell their children as food to the wealthy, saying: "A young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled."
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