Fiddles

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

3.2

Word count: 29K words
Chapters: 3

Summary

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Fiddles, by Francis Hopkinson Smith. This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: Fiddles. Author: Francis Hopkinson Smith. Release Date: December 3, 2007 [eBook #23740]. Language: English. Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1. Credits: Produced by David Widger. *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FIDDLES ***

Editor's review

Fiddles is a literary work by Francis Hopkinson Smith, falling under the category of American and Canadian literature and made available as a free eBook through Project Gutenberg. Smith's writing often carries a gentle narrative tone and a close observation of everyday people and affairs, and this book is no exception, suited to leisurely reading in a quiet setting. As a public-domain eBook, it is easily accessible and convenient for readers to browse on a computer or e-reader at any time, and it also serves as a light entry point for understanding the landscape of late nineteenth-century American popular literature. Readers should not expect dramatic plots, but should pay attention to its linguistic rhythm and character-sketch-like touches. For readers studying Project Gutenberg or the early dissemination of eBooks, the book's version information itself also forms a kind of digital-humanities reading background. Overall, it is better suited as extended reading for literature enthusiasts rather than a first choice for beginners.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy late nineteenth-century American literature and prefer gentle narratives
English learners in need of free public-domain English eBooks for extensive reading
Readers interested in Project Gutenberg and early eBook culture

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking strong plots and fast-paced stories
Readers who need a Chinese translation or bilingual reading
Researchers hoping to systematically study Smith's life and complete body of work

Reading tips

Read the first chapter or two first to get a feel for the narrative tone before deciding whether to read it through
Can be paired with an English audiobook for simultaneous listening to reduce the difficulty of understanding long sentences
Record key words about characters and scenes after reading for easier review and discussion

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 in Chinese?

No. This book is a public-domain English eBook, with the language marked as English, and its content falls under the category of American and Canadian literature. Reading it requires some English reading ability, and no Chinese translation is provided with the book.

Why does the introduction repeatedly mention Project Gutenberg?

Because the book is published by Project Gutenberg, and the introduction mainly introduces the background of this free eBook project and its founder Michael Hart, rather than summarizing the plot of Fiddles. Readers should regard the introduction as an explanation of the version's source, not as a content guide.

Is this book suitable for learning English?

It can be used as extensive reading material, but is not suitable as a textbook for absolute beginners. Its literary language and historical background require a certain vocabulary; intermediate or above English readers are advised to use it with a dictionary or audiobook, and to prioritize short chapters and proceed gradually.

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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.