A Mixed Proposal

William Wymark JacobsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 21K words
Chapters: 3

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A Mixed Proposal by W. W. JacobsAuthor: Jacobs, W. W. (William Wymark), 1863-1943,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 1, 2004

Editor's review

A Mixed Proposal is a short work by the English writer W. W. Jacobs, available in the free Project Gutenberg ebook library. Jacobs is known for his humor and unexpected endings, and this piece continues his usual method of advancing a story through everyday situations and dialogue. It is short and light in language, making it a good introduction to English short fiction of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The electronic edition is released by Project Gutenberg and is easy to obtain, suitable for reading in one sitting during a commute or lunch break. While reading, notice how the narrator sets up the humor in a plain tone, and how the ending twist echoes earlier details. Since the original is in English, readers need some English reading ability; an annotated or bilingual edition can help you appreciate the linguistic wit more fully. Overall, this is a classic short story that is relaxed yet clever, worth trying for readers who want to expand their English short-fiction reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy English short stories and want to read in spare moments
Readers interested in English humorous literature and twist endings
Students or self-learners who need short materials for intensive English reading practice
Readers who want low-cost access to classics through public-domain ebooks

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer long, complex plots or deep character development
Beginners with weak English reading skills who need Chinese support
Readers expecting modern subjects or contemporary narrative styles

Reading tips

Read through once for the plot, then go back to the opening foreshadowing and see how the twist is set up.
Note unfamiliar expressions and slang, look them up together, and build a store of common phrases from English short stories.
After reading, try retelling the story in two or three sentences and explaining where the humor lies to check your understanding.
Read it alongside other Jacobs stories and observe the common features of his humor.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What level of English is needed to read this book?

The original is an English short story with short sentences but many colloquial dialogues and period expressions. It suits readers with roughly CET-4 reading ability who can read with a dictionary; those with weaker basics can start with a bilingual edition before tackling the original.

Where can I get the electronic edition, and is it free?

The book is released by Project Gutenberg as a free public-domain ebook. You can search and download it on their website by title or author, usually in plain text and ebook formats, at no cost.

Is this work suitable as English learning material?

It works for extensive reading or close reading of a short piece. It is short with plenty of dialogue, easy to finish in one sitting and analyze linguistically; however, some expressions are period-colored, so use it with a dictionary and background notes rather than as your only textbook.

Comments

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About the author

William Wymark Jacobs Author · British · 1863–1943

William Wymark Jacobs (1863–1943) was a British short-story writer, born in London in 1863 and died there in 1943. In his early years he lived around the Thames docks and was familiar with the lives of sailors and dockworkers, which led him to write a great many humorous sea stories, often in a light and witty tone. His best-known work, The Monkey's Paw, is a classic horror short story included in The Lady of the Barge (1902); noted for its tight suspense and sudden twists, it is still widely anthologized in horror collections. The library holds 109 of his works, including The Lady of the Barge and Others, Ship's Company, A Tiger's Skin, Captains All, and Night Watches; his common category is inspirational growth. Public information is limited and details of his life are largely unavailable, yet his fiction is distinctive in subject, blending humor with horror, and has had a lasting influence on later short-story writing.