Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author's brain, their soul and heart. A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere.

In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted 'Top Tens' across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author?

The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme. Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature.

Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something.

The decades of this century see authors of every hue and talent assemble vast realms of fabulous literature that entertain the global audience then and to revisit now. Genres explode across the landscape. Genius in every name.

1 - The Top 10 - The 19th Century - The English Men - An Introduction

2 - The Signalman by Charles Dickens

3 - The Man Who Would Be King - Part 1 by Rudyard Kipling

4 - The Man Who Would Be King - Part 2 by Rudyard Kipling

5 - The Magic Shop by H G Wells

6 - The Grave by the Handpost by Thomas Hardy

7 - The Interlopers by Saki the pseudonym for H H Munro

8 - A Little Dinner At Timmin's by William Makepeace Thackeray

9 - Lost Hearts by M R James

10 - Father Giles Of Ballymoy by Anthony Trollope

11 - A Terribly Strange Bed by Wilkie Collins

12 - My Astral Body by Anthony Hope