At Close Range

Smith, Francis Hopkinson, 1838-1915Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 242K words
Chapters: 25

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.At Close Range by Francis Hopkinson SmithAuthor: Smith, Francis Hopkinson, 1838-1915,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Aug 4, 2017

Editor's review

At Close Range is a work by Francis Hopkinson Smith, available through Project Gutenberg and classified under American and Canadian literature. Smith's writing is known for its fine observation and narrative skill, and this work continues his close-up portrayal of characters and scenes, giving readers a sense of the narrative style and humanistic atmosphere of American literature from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. As a public-domain ebook, its value lies in the accessibility of the text and its significance for literary history, making it suitable for readers interested in American literature or narrative works of that period. It is best read within the context of Smith's creative output and the era, rather than with expectations of modern-style tight plotting or genre writing. Project Gutenberg's free availability also makes it a low-cost entry point for understanding American literature, particularly suitable for language learning or literary research through comparison with the original text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in American literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
Learners who wish to practice English reading with free public-domain texts
Academic readers studying American literary history or Smith's works
Readers who prefer slow-paced works centered on character and scene description

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer strongly plotted, fast-paced genre fiction
Readers who find nineteenth-century literary language difficult to tolerate
Beginning readers seeking modern annotations or introductions

Reading tips

First read the bibliographic information on the Project Gutenberg page to confirm the edition and literary classification before entering the main text.
Read slowly chapter by chapter, paying attention to the period tone in character dialogue and scene description.
For language learning, excerpt long sentences for grammatical analysis and consult modern translations for comprehension.
After reading, look up Smith's biography and the background of contemporary American literature to fill in the context.

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

Is this book a Chinese version?

According to the information, the book's language is English. The original text provided by Project Gutenberg is in English, not a Chinese translation. Chinese readers need a certain level of English reading ability or should use dictionaries and辅助 tools.

Why is there no modern introduction or annotations?

Project Gutenberg mainly provides original texts of public-domain ebooks and usually does not include introductions, annotations, or research materials written by modern scholars. Readers who need background information must consult the author's biography and literary history materials themselves.

Is this book suitable for learning English?

It can be used as extensive reading material, but the text is literary language from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, with sentence structures and vocabulary characteristic of the period, so it is not suitable for complete beginners. It is recommended for readers with intermediate to advanced English proficiency, used together with dictionaries and grammar tools.

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About the author

Smith, Francis Hopkinson, 1838-1915 Author

Francis Hopkinson Smith (1838–1915) was an American author whose biographical details are only sparsely documented in public sources. The library holds twenty-six of his works, including novels and short stories, with representative titles such as Colonel Carter's Christmas, Forty Minutes Late, Felix O'Day, The Tides of Barnegat, and A Gentleman's Gentleman. These works show that he excelled at depicting, in a gentle and humorous vein, the daily life of upper-class English and American society and the Southern gentlemanly class, with plots often revolving around etiquette, family relations, and character, conveying both the warmth and the irony of an old-fashioned genteel world. His writings occupy a place in early twentieth-century American popular literature, and some of his stories were widely read.