The Fiend's Delight

Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914)


This book, the fiend’s delight, was published in 1873, during the lifetime of author Ambrose Bierce, 1842-1914, pseudonym Dod Grile.
It is a collection of short stories which cover many subjects. Dependent upon the reader the stories may seem callous, entertaining or some of the stories even just weird. The author has been known to have a penchant for being macabre as some of his works have displayed.
Ambrose Bierce served in the Civil War so he did have personal experience with having seen just how horrid some lives were. He also had a family: a wife whom he divorced in 1904 and 3 children, 2 sons and a daughter. Difficult times followed for him as the sons died before Ambrose died, with his ex wife dying 1 year after their divorce. Ambrose himself was known to have had lifelong asthma & brain injuries from the war which caused him to faint & become irritable. His daughter did live 65 years, dying in 1940. She spent time searching for her father, whom she did not think was dead. Possibly his family is why some of his writings were not so macabre? Unfortunately that answer is not known.
Leaving to visit his civil war grounds had him traveling into Mexico were there was revolution in 1913. There he joined Pancho Villa’s army as an observer where he disappeared.
Many theories existed as to how his disappearance happened, most of which were unreliable.
It was determined his final fate was unknown & referred to as a mystery.
April Reynolds

Genre(s): Satire, Published before 1800, Single Author Collections

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Preface April6090
00:01:46
Play 02 Some Fiction; One More Unfortunate April6090
00:02:46
Play 03 Some Fiction; The Strong Young Man of Colusa April6090
00:02:22
Play 04 Some Fiction;The Glad New Year April6090
00:02:00
Play 05 Some Fiction; The Late Dowling, Senior April6090
00:05:24
Play 06 Some Fiction; “Love’s Labour Lost” April6090
00:03:57
Play 07 Some Fiction; A Comforter April6090
00:02:08
Play 08 Some Fiction; Little Isaac April6090
00:02:30
Play 09 Some Fiction; the Heels of Her April6090
00:02:26
Play 10 Some Fiction; A Tale of Two Feet April6090
00:01:50
Play 11 Some Fiction; The Scolliver Pig April6090
00:03:30
Play 12 Some Fiction; Mr. Hunker's Mourner April6090
00:02:18
Play 13 Some Fiction; A Bit of Chivalry April6090
00:03:08
Play 14 Some Fiction; The Head of the Family April6090
00:02:00
Play 15 Some Fiction; Deathbed Repentance April6090
00:02:34
Play 16 Some Fiction; The New Church that was not Built April6090
00:03:23
Play 17 Some Fiction; A Tale of the Great Quake April6090
00:02:05
Play 18 Some Fiction; Johnny April6090
00:01:46
Play 19 Some Fiction; The Child's Provider April6090
00:01:52
Play 20 Some Fiction; Boys who Began Wrong April6090
00:01:50
Play 21 Some Fiction; A Kansas Incident April6090
00:01:07
Play 22 Some Fiction; Mr. Grile's Girl April6090
00:02:29
Play 23 Some Fiction; His Railway April6090
00:01:54
Play 24 Some Fiction; Mr. Gish Makes a Present April6090
00:01:59
Play 25 Some Fiction; A Cow-County Pleasantry April6090
00:01:57
Play 26 Some Fiction; The Optimist, and What He Died Of April6090
00:02:50
Play 27 Some Fiction; The Root of Education April6090
00:02:09
Play 28 Some Fiction; Retribution April6090
00:01:21
Play 29 Some Fiction; The faithful wife April6090
00:01:43
Play 30 Some Fiction; Margaret the Childless April6090
00:02:34
Play 31 Some Fiction; The Discomfited Demon April6090
00:03:58
Play 32 Some Fiction; The Mistake of a Life April6090
00:01:37
Play 33 Some Fiction; L.S. April6090
00:04:31
Play 34 Some Fiction; The Baffled Asian April6090
00:02:27
Play 35 Tall Talk; A Call to Dinner April6090
00:05:08
Play 36 Tall Talk; On Death and Immortality April6090
00:03:53
Play 37 Tall Talk; Music, muscular and mechanical April6090
00:02:35
Play 38 Tall Talk; The Good Young Man April6090
00:02:10
Play 39 Tall Talk; The Average Parson April6090
00:02:56
Play 40 Tall Talk; Did We Eat One Another? April6090
00:03:01
Play 41 Tall Talk; Your Friend’s Friend April6090
00:02:01
Play 42 Tall Talk; Le Diable est aux Vaches April6090
00:03:51
Play 43 Tall Talk; Angels and Angles April6090
00:02:06
Play 44 Tall Talk; A Wingless Insect April6090
00:04:06
Play 45 Tall Talk; Pork on the Hoof April6090
00:03:04
Play 46 Tall Talk; The Young Person April6090
00:02:16
Play 47 Tall Talk; A Certain Popular Fallacy April6090
00:01:55
Play 48 Tall Talk; Pastoral Journalism April6090
00:03:21
Play 49 Tall Talk; Mendicity’s Mistake April6090
00:02:00
Play 50 Tall Talk; Insects April6090
00:01:42
Play 51 Tall Talk; Picnicking considered as a Mistake April6090
00:01:53
Play 52 Tall Talk; Thanksgiving Day April6090
00:04:31
Play 53 Tall Talk; Flogging April6090
00:01:58
Play 54 Tall Talk; Reflections upon the Beneficent Influence of the Press April6090
00:01:19
Play 55 Tall Talk; Charity April6090
00:00:50
Play 56 Tall Talk; The Study of Human Nature April6090
00:00:52
Play 57 Tall Talk; Additional Talk—Done in the Country April6090
00:03:53