Abstract
This article pays attention to the issue development of the genre of the short story in the American and British literature. The authors of the short stories overcame difficulties with the extensive search for ways to update the figurative and expressive means powered to their common basic paradigm shift. Analysis of the researching devoted to the theory and history of the genre of the short story inevitably was powered by common understanding blur definition of its genre associated with general laws taken place in the literary process of the XIXth century. The high artistic level achieved the small prose in the England and its traits was fruitfully investigated by Russian and Western scholar and enlightened the experience manner of writers, therefore this genre should be considered as creative activity improved the unique technique, carried out in practice the experiments with a plot and themes finally successfully developed in their narrative prose.