A short story collection is distinguished from an anthology of fiction, which would contain work by several authors (e.g., Les Soirées de Médan).
[1][2][3][4][failed verification] The stories in a collection may or may not share a tone, theme, setting, or characters with one another.
[6] In spite of this, each short story does not lose any of its meaning or narrative independence by being included in a collection.
[6] Early Western short story collections include Marie of France's Lais and Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron.
[12] Secondly, providing short story collections centered around a specific time creates an opportunity to encourage interest in historical studies.
Another potential use is to challenge students to evaluate and criticize literature by using short story collections as a jumping off point.
[12] However, newer, more bite-sized short story collections might be a good way for students to get the depth of exposure they need while not overwhelming them.