Comedies and Errors

Harland, Henry, 1861-1905Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 496K words
Chapters: 50

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.Comedies and Errors by Henry HarlandAuthor: Harland, Henry, 1861-1905,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Aug 2, 2016

Editor's review

Comedies and Errors is an English-language work by Henry Harland, reissued by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain eBook. Harland was an English-language writer of the late nineteenth century with aestheticist leanings, and his work is often noted for light irony, scenes of urban social life, and fine psychological touches. Judging by the title, the book revolves around "comedies" and "errors," and the short stories may serve as a window onto late nineteenth-century social manners and narrative taste. Its value lies in style and ingenious plotting rather than grand themes; readers can appreciate the rhythm and ironic tone of aestheticist prose. As a free electronic text, it is easy to pick up and read in fragments, and it also serves as a sample for studying the circulation of public-domain literature. Note that the introduction provides no details of individual pieces; readers should first skim the table of contents or opening pages to judge each piece's genre and length before deciding whether to read closely or casually.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers who enjoy late nineteenth-century English-language short stories
Readers interested in aestheticist style and lightly ironic narrative
Publishing-culture enthusiasts studying public-domain eBooks and literary circulation
Language learners who want to read English short stories in fragmented time

Not a good fit for

Genre-fiction readers who prefer strong plot conflict and fast-paced narrative
Beginners who need detailed author biography and annotations
Readers unaccustomed to nineteenth-century English prose who want modern simplified texts

Reading tips

First skim the table of contents or the opening of the first piece to judge each piece's length and theme, then choose what to read closely by interest rather than proceeding strictly in order.
As you read each piece, note the narrator's tone and where the irony lands, and jot down in one or two sentences how the "error" drives the plot.
Read alongside short stories by Harland's aestheticist contemporaries and compare their subjects and styles.
If using it for language study, read each piece twice: first for the plot, then to mark unfamiliar words and sentence patterns.

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 genre is this book?

Judging by the title and the background of its author, Henry Harland, it is an English-language literary work, usually regarded as a collection of short stories or prose narratives. The introduction does not list individual pieces, so readers should open the eBook and check the table of contents or opening pages to confirm each piece's genre and length.

Can I understand it without relevant background knowledge?

You can read it, but your depth of understanding will be affected. Harland's work has an aestheticist style and social irony; without some knowledge of late nineteenth-century English-language literary taste, the ironic points may be hard to catch. It is advisable to read one or two pieces first to get a feel for the style, then decide whether to fill in the period background.

Is this edition the complete original work?

This is a public-domain eBook released by Project Gutenberg, usually produced from a version that has entered the public domain. The introduction does not state whether anything has been abridged; readers can check the completeness of the contents against other public-domain editions or bibliographic records.

Is it suitable as English-learning material?

It is suitable for intermediate and advanced English learners as extensive reading, since the text is an English original and freely available. However, late nineteenth-century sentence patterns and vocabulary differ from modern English, so it is best read with a dictionary, starting with shorter pieces that have clearer plots.

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About the author

Harland, Henry, 1861-1905 Author

Henry Harland (Harland, Henry, 1861-1905) was an English-language writer active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Little is known in China about his life and nationality, and publicly available information is limited. The collection here holds eleven of his works, including My Friend Prospero, Mademoiselle Miss, and Other Stories, Comedies and Errors, The Cardinal's Snuff-Box, As It Was Written: A Jewish Musician's Story, The Royal End: A Romance, Grey Roses, and The Lady Paramount. Judging by these titles and genres, his writing spans novels and short stories, often centering on love, social circles, and mistaken identity, with a blend of light comedy and romantic romance, and occasionally touching on culturally charged subjects such as a Jewish musician. His prose favors plotted narration and dialogue, hovering between aesthetic refinement and social satire. He found readers in his day, though later criticism and research on him remain relatively limited.