| INTRODUCTION | Page | ||
| I. | The Tale in America before 1835 | 1 | |
| II. | Poe’s Invention of the Short Story | 15 | |
| III. | A Glance at Derivation: Ancient Tales, Mediæval Tales, The Modern French Short Story | 23 | |
| PART I. THE TENTATIVE PERIOD | |||
| Chapter | |||
| I. | WASHINGTON IRVING | ||
| Rip Van Winkle | 1820 | 39 | |
| II. | WILLIAM AUSTIN | ||
| Peter Rugg, the Missing Man | 1824 | 61 | |
| III. | JAMES HALL | ||
| The French Village | 1829 | 99 | |
| IV. | ALBERT PIKE | ||
| The Inroad of the Nabajo | 1833 | 115 | |
| PART II. THE PERIOD OF THE NEW FORM | |||
| V. | NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE | ||
| The White Old Maid | 1835 | 131 | |
| VI. | HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW | ||
| The Notary of Périgueux | 1835 | 145 | |
| VII. | EDGAR ALLAN POE | ||
| The Fall of the House of Usher | 1839 | 155 | |
| VIII. | NATHANIEL PARKER WILLIS | ||
| The Inlet of Peach Blossoms | 1840–5 | 179 | |
| IX. | CAROLINE MATILDA STANSBURY KIRKLAND | ||
| The Bee-Tree | 1846 | 195 | |
| X. | FITZ-JAMES O’BRIEN | ||
| What was It? A Mystery | 1859 | 213 | |
| XI. | FRANCIS BRET HARTE | ||
| The Outcasts of Poker Flat | 1869 | 231 | |
| XII. | ALBERT FALVEY WEBSTER | ||
| Miss Eunice’s Glove | 1873 | 247 | |
| XIII. | BAYARD TAYLOR | ||
| Who was She? | 1874 | 269 | |
| XIV. | HENRY CUYLER BUNNER | ||
| The Love-Letters of Smith | 1890 | 291 | |
| XV. | HAROLD FREDERIC | ||
| The Eve of the Fourth | 1897 | 305 | |
| BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE | 325 | ||
| INDEX | 327 | ||