The Best American Mystery Stories of the Nineteenth Century

What a treasure this anthology that contains thirty-two short stories published by American authors in the nineteenth century is. The stories were edited by well known and respected mystery/suspense editor Otto Penzler and include some of the expected stories and authors like Poe's "Purloined Letter" and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" but also some worthy little known or forgotten gems. The well known and revered American authors represented in the selections include Louisa May Alcott, Washington, Irving, Stephen Crane, Edith Wharton, Jack London, Mark Twain, L. Frank Baum, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Daniel Webster and Ambrose Bierce. To my surprise Abraham Lincoln contributes a piece about some Illinois brothers he defended as an attorney though as the editor puts it this piece is included more as a "curiosity" rather than its great literary merit. However some of my favorite selections in the volume were provided by more obscure or forgotten names. Each story is prefaced by some biographical information about the author as well as a brief introduction to the story itself. The stories are arranged chronologically by date of publication with Washington Irving's 1824 "The Story of the Young Robber" and Jack London's "A Thousand Deaths" published in 1899. This book is a very welcome addition to my collection of classic American short stories and I especially appreciate the focus on mystery.