| 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. | F[ITZ-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] |