Frictional Electricity

Charles Heber ClarkProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 21K 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.Frictional Electricity by Charles Heber ClarkAuthor: Clark, Charles Heber, 1841-1915,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 24, 2007

Editor's review

Frictional Electricity is a work by Charles Heber Clark, reissued as a free eBook by Project Gutenberg. Clark was active in American literary circles from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century and was known for his humorous style. Although the title contains the word "electricity," the book is a literary work, classified under American and Canadian literature, and readers should not expect a popular science title on physics. As the earliest provider of free electronic books, Project Gutenberg's edition is valuable first for the accessibility and openness of its text: it is free, easy to search and excerpt, and suitable as a base text for studying nineteenth-century American popular writing or for extensive reading in English. Readers should note that the book is in the original English, and its period language differs from contemporary English; fully appreciating its historical context and humor requires some background knowledge. Readers are advised to treat it as a freely usable fictional text: first read through to grasp the plot and tone, then understand it in light of the popular literary tradition in which the author worked, rather than dwelling on the technological associations suggested by the title.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers and researchers studying late nineteenth-century American popular literature
Learners who wish to practice extensive reading with a free original English text
Collector-type readers interested in Project Gutenberg eBook texts
Casual readers who enjoy old-fashioned humor and social stories

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting专业 content on physics or electricity
Beginners with limited English reading ability who need sentence-by-sentence annotations
Readers who prefer contemporary narrative pacing and contemporary subjects

Reading tips

Read the first few chapters to confirm the style and narrative mode, then decide whether to read through or select passages.
Keep a vocabulary notebook for period expressions and slang to avoid frequent dictionary lookups interrupting the rhythm.
Read alongside background material on American popular literature of the same period to understand the sources of its humor.
Use the electronic text's search function to mark characters and key plot points for easy review and note-taking.

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 about electricity or physics?

No. Project Gutenberg classifies the book under American and Canadian literature, so it is a literary work; the word "electricity" in the title should not be taken as popular science content. If you are looking for an electricity textbook, this book is not suitable; if you want to read a fictional text from an earlier era, you can approach it as a literary work.

Is this edition the original English text? How difficult is it to read?

This edition is an original English-language eBook. Its language is late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century English; sentence structures and vocabulary differ from contemporary English. Readers with intermediate or higher English reading ability can read through with a dictionary, while beginners may find it difficult; it is advisable to sample it first before deciding.

What are the practical features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg is the earliest project providing free electronic books; its texts are open and accessible, convenient for searching, excerpting, and personal study. This edition has no detailed annotations or introduction by a modern editor, so readers need to supply background knowledge themselves; it is suitable as a freely reusable working text.

How can I read it with less effort and more benefit?

Read the first few chapters to gauge the narrative pace and language difficulty, then decide whether to read through or select passages; while reading, note character relationships and period expressions, and when encountering difficult sentences, skip them first and grasp the overall plot. If reading for research, combine it with material on American popular literature of the same period to understand its style and context.

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About the author

Charles Heber Clark Author · American · 1841–1915

Charles Heber Clark (1841–1915) was an American novelist and humorist who published much of his work under the pen name Max Adeler. Born in Berlin, Maryland, he worked early in his career as a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and as an editor at the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. He rose to fame in 1874 with Out of the Hurly-Burly, a light and witty portrayal of everyday life that established his reputation as a humorist. His other notable work, Elbow-Room: A Novel Without a Plot, continues in the same loose and casual narrative style. He also wrote Frictional Electricity. In later years Clark ran a textile-industry journal, and he died in 1915 in Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania. His popular, humorous writing earned him a place in nineteenth-century American humor.