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Henry Kitchell Webster, Collected Short Works, vols. 1-4

  • Volume 1 is available on Amazon; other stores via Ingram (9781088272121 print, 9781088272152 ebook)
  • Volume 2 is available on Amazon; other stores via Ingram (9781088272305 print, 9781088272305 ebook)
  • Volume 3 is available on Amazon; other stores via Ingram (9781088272817 print, 9781088272848 ebook)
  • Volume 4 is available on Amazon; other stores via Ingram (9781088272954 print, 9781088272985 ebook)
Henry Kitchell Webster, Collected Short Works and Related Correspondence, volume 1: 1901-1912
Henry Kitchell Webster, Collected Short Works and Related Correspondence, volume 2: 1913-1914
Henry Kitchell Webster, Collected Short Works and Related Correspondence, volume 3: 1915-1922
Henry Kitchell Webster, Collected Short Works and Related Correspondence, volume 4: 1922-1932

About Henry Kitchell Webster

Webster from the New York Times, 1912

In an era of unprecedented economic growth in America, Henry Kitchell Webster (1875-1932) was one of the first to set novels and short stories in the world of business and industry. He also sympathetically portrayed the new type of woman who was emerging as the Victorian era waned. His charming, intelligent heroines seek (and usually achieve) not only romance and family, but education, careers, and economic independence.

Illustrations from the original publication of three of Webster’s short stories

Webster’s short stories were in constant demand by national magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post and McClure’s. His novels (29 under his own name) sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Eleven films were based on his books and screenplays. The New York Times even published Webster’s thoughts on novel-writing. Although Webster’s works date to the Progressive Era and the Jazz Age, the characters, dialogue, and brisk pacing still seem refreshingly modern.

Each of the 4 volumes in the Collected Short Works features illustrations commissioned by major magazines for the original appearances of Webster’s short stories. Each also includes previously unpublished letters (from the Webster archive at the Newberry Library) that give insight into how and why he wrote his stories and novels.

Publication of Webster’s early short works

Vol. 1, 1901 to 1912 (334 pp.)

Ten short stories (2 previously unpublished), “Mrs. Thornborough’s Apology” (performed in Chicago, New Haven and New York in 1912, but never published), 27 letters (previously unpublished), and articles on Webster’s early career from the Saturday Evening Post (1911) and the New York Times (1912).

First page of the manuscript of one of Webster’s unpublished stories, ca. 1905

Vol. 2, 1913-1914 (462 pp.)

Twenty short stories, a previously unpublished play, and 36 letters (previously unpublished).

Vol. 3, 1915-1922 (416 pp.)

Eleven short stories, a previously unpublished play, and 49 letters (previously unpublished).

Vol. 4, 1923-1932 (444 pp.)

Five short stories, 3 plays (previously unpublished), 17 essays on writing (most unpublished), hundreds of letters, and a bibliography of Webster’s works.

More

  • I’ve republished a number of novels by Webster, correcting the OCR scanning and adding the illustrations that appeared in the first edition. See the list here.
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