Evergreens

Jerome, Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka), 1859-1927Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 32K words
Chapters: 4

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.Evergreens by Jerome K. JeromeAuthor: Jerome, Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka), 1859-1927,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Mar 1, 1997

Editor's review

Evergreens is a short work by the English humorist Jerome K. Jerome, available as a free eBook from Project Gutenberg. Jerome, best known for Three Men in a Boat, writes with gentle irony and everyday wisdom, finding humor in ordinary things. The book is brief and makes an easy introduction to Victorian English prose: the language is witty without being obscure, the plot light, and the reading effort small. As a public-domain eBook, it is more a book to dip into for literary pleasure than a systematic treatise. Readers can enjoy it in short stretches on the commute, before bed, or between English study sessions, savoring the humor of late nineteenth-century British letters; it also serves as supplementary material for understanding Jerome's style, to be read alongside his major works and compared for similar narrative rhythm and characterization.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literature lovers who enjoy British humorous prose and want a light read
English learners looking for public-domain short works in the original
Readers interested in the late Victorian British literary scene
People who need short pieces to fill spare moments

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting systematic literary theory or in-depth academic analysis
Readers who prefer long, complex plots and strong narrative tension
Readers who need a Chinese translation and do not want to read the English original

Reading tips

Read through once for the humorous tone, then revisit marked passages of banter and dialogue to appreciate the balance of irony.
Read alongside Jerome's Three Men in a Boat and observe his habitual narrative techniques.
English learners can copy one or two colloquial expressions per paragraph to build familiarity with nineteenth-century English usage.
Use it as a bedtime or commute read, one short section at a time, without trying to finish it in one sitting.

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 a novel or a short work?

According to the Project Gutenberg record, Evergreens is a short work by Jerome, modest in length and suited to reading in sections. It is not a systematic novel but closer to a literary sketch to dip into; the exact genre and length should be confirmed against the eBook text.

Can I read this without having read other works by Jerome?

Yes. The language is witty and the plot light, with no prior reading required. If you enjoy the tone, seek out Three Men in a Boat and other major works for a fuller sense of the author's humor and narrative rhythm.

How difficult is the English original?

It is late nineteenth-century British prose overall, with syntax that is not complex but with period diction and humorous irony. Readers with roughly CET-4 level English can read it with a dictionary; for pure entertainment, you can skim dialogue and plot passages without looking up every word.

What should I keep in mind when using the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg offers free public-domain eBooks, with texts prepared by volunteers, mostly in plain text, and may lack carefully designed notes or introductions. It is advisable to consult background material on the author separately, and note that different format versions may differ slightly in paragraphing and punctuation.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Jerome, Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka), 1859-1927 Author

Jerome K. Jerome (1859–1927) was an English humorist known for his light, witty narrative style. His best-known work, Three Men in a Boat, turns a boating trip on the Thames into a comic account of small mishaps and idle reflections; its relaxed pacing and dry humour made it a classic of English comic writing, and the sequel Three Men on the Bummel follows the same vein. His essay collections The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow and The Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, which treat everyday life in a leisurely, self-mocking tone, were likewise widely read. These works have been translated into many languages, and this library alone holds thirty-eight of his titles, a sign of the enduring appeal of his humorous prose across languages.