Establishing Relations

William Wymark JacobsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 22K 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.Establishing Relations 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

Also by Jacobs, Establishing Relations belongs to the short humorous vein he excelled in. The title hints at the forming of relations between people, and his customary approach is to make such "establishing" twist and turn with a touch of calculation, giving readers pleasure through dialogue and misunderstanding. The story is short, with few characters and a concentrated setting, making it a good entry point for a brief read. Its value lies not in grand themes but in showing how a short story can bring social niceties vividly to life through a few lines of dialogue and a single turn. For English learners, it can serve as lightweight practice in reading original text, focusing on how characters probe, maneuver, and achieve their aims through language. While reading, note the distance between narrator and characters, which is the source of Jacobs-style dry humor. If you read short stories only to relax, it is light enough; if you want to study short-story technique, it offers plenty to take apart.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy short, humorous stories and want an easy piece of original English
Readers interested in social niceties in British short fiction
Readers who want to practice English dialogue and spoken expression through short stories
Readers who want to finish a complete story on the commute or at lunch

Not a good fit for

Beginners who need detailed notes and a Chinese introduction to read the original
Readers who prefer serious literary themes and deep psychological portrayal
Readers expecting novel-style character growth and elaborate plotting

Reading tips

Read the story once, then read again focusing on how dialogue drives changes in relationships.
Copy out unfamiliar colloquial expressions, infer meaning from context, then check.
After reading, reflect on how the title matches the plot and where the irony lands.
Read it alongside other stories by the same author and compare his recurring use of misunderstanding and reversal.

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 related to The Persecution of Bob Pretty?

Both are Jacobs short stories in his humorous, satirical vein, but each stands alone with no continuous characters or plot. They can be read separately or compared for similar handling of small figures and dialogue.

What English level is needed to read this?

Intermediate reading ability is recommended. The text is mainly dialogue and narration and is not long, but it contains colloquial and period expressions, so complete beginners may need more support. Readers who can get through a short story with a dictionary should be fine.

Does this e-book include a Chinese translation?

No. This edition comes from Project Gutenberg and provides the original English text without Chinese translation or notes. Readers who need a Chinese parallel should find a bilingual or annotated edition; otherwise they need to read the English short story independently.

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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.