Back to Back

William Wymark JacobsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 23K 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.Back to Back 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

Back to Back is a short work by the English writer W. W. Jacobs, available as a free e-book from Project Gutenberg. Jacobs is known for humor, twists, and the predicaments of ordinary little people, and this book continues his light, brisk tone; it suits readers who want to sample English short-fiction wit in a short time. As a public-domain electronic text, it is convenient to read during commutes or in fragments, and it also works as supplementary material on short narrative in English literature courses. Readers can attend to the rhythm of dialogue, the plot twist, and the characters' comic predicaments, and appreciate the narrative pleasures of late 19th- to early 20th-century British popular short fiction. For English study, read through the plot first, then revisit the dialogue and humorous expressions; for literary analysis, read it alongside other Jacobs stories to observe his recurring motifs and structural techniques.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Casual readers who enjoy British humorous short stories and twist endings
Readers who want to use fragments of time to read public-domain English short stories
Teachers and students who need supplementary short fiction for English literature courses
Readers interested in late 19th-century British popular narrative

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer long, complex plots and deep character development
English beginners who need modern annotations and detailed introductions
Readers expecting serious social critique or heavy themes

Reading tips

Read the whole story first to grasp the plot twist, then revisit the humorous expressions in the dialogue
Read it alongside other Jacobs stories to observe his common motifs and structure
For English study, excerpt colloquial dialogue and imitate its rhythm and tone
After reading, summarize the twist in three sentences to check whether you have grasped the key narrative point

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 suitable for English beginners?

The text is a public-domain English short story. The language is not especially difficult, but it lacks modern annotations. Beginners can read a plot summary first and then move into the original, using a dictionary for slang and period expressions; proceeding step by step will make it easier.

What do Jacobs's short stories have in common?

His stories often feature ordinary little people as protagonists, advance through dialogue, and end with a twist or comic conclusion in a British humorous vein. While reading, notice how setup and misunderstanding accumulate and how the final sentence overturns the situation.

What kind of reading approach suits the electronic edition?

It is short, so it suits segmented reading during commutes or before bed; you can also use search functions to find repeated words and phrases and observe the author's language habits. For course material, mark the twist paragraphs first and then discuss them in class.

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.