英美短篇小说在现当代英美文学中占有非常重要的地位，它以篇幅短小、形式多样、主题鲜明以及及时而生动地反映生活的各个侧面而见长，并适应了现代生活的多元结构与灵动的节奏。

薛丽主编的《英美短篇小说鉴赏导读》简要介绍了英美短篇小说的发展历史，分析了英美短篇小说的基本要素，帮助读者清晰地领略到英美短篇小说这一文学体裁的发展脉络；介绍了英美短篇小说阅读与鉴赏的一些主要方法，指导读者如何理解与欣赏英美短篇小说，收录了英美二十二篇经典短篇小说以供读者阅读欣赏。

Chapter 1 Introduction

 1.1 Definition of Short Story

 1.2 History of Short Story

Chapter 2 Elements and Techniques of Short Story

 2.1 Elements

 2.2 Techniques

Chapter 3 How to Read Short Story

 3.1 Look at the Plot

 3.2 Analyze the Characters

 3.3 Identify the Setting

 3.4 Examine the Point of View

 3.5 Identify the Themes

 3.6 Analyze the Tone

 3.7 Discuss Symbolism and Allegory

 3.8 Focus on Irony

Chapter 4 Major Critical Approaches

 4.1 Formalist Criticism

 4.2 Historical Criticism

 4.3 Psychological Criticism

 4.4 Sociological Critieism

 4.5 Feminist Criticism

 4.6 Reader-response Criticism

 4.7 Cultural Studies Criticism

 4.8 Deconstructionist Critieism

 4.9 Biographical Criticism

Chapter 5 Selected Readings of English and American Short Stories

 5.1 Oscar Wilde and The Happy Prince

 5.2 Thomas Hardy and The Son' s Veto

 5.3 Virginia Woolf and The New Dress

 5.4 Katherine Mansfield and The Fly

 5.5 James Joyee and Araby

 5.6 William Somerset Maugham and The Ant and the Grasshopper

 5.7 D. H. Lawrence and The Horse Dealer's Daughter

 5.8 H.H. Munro and The Open Window

 5.9 Doris Lessing and A Woman on a Roof

 5.10 Edgar Allan Poe and The Purloined Letter

 5.11 Nathaniel Hawthorne and Young Goodman Brown

 5.12 O. Henry and The Gift of the Magi

 5.13 Mark Twain and Luck

 5.14 Kate Chopin and The Story of an Hour

 5.15 Jack London and The White Man' s Way

 5.16 Sherwood Anderson and Mother

 5.17 Willa Sibert Cather and Neighbour Rosicky

 5.18 E. Hemingway and Hills like White Elephants

 5.19 William Faulkner and A Rose for Emily

 5.20 Bernard Malamud and The Magic Barrel

 5.21 John Updike and A&P

 5.22 Alice Walker and Everyday Use for Your Grandmama

Bibliography