Get Next!

George V. Hobart (George Vere Hobart; pseud. Hugh McHugh)Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 55K words
Chapters: 6

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.Get Next! by George V. HobartAuthor: Hobart, George V. (George Vere), 1867-1926,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jun 1, 2004

Editor's review

This work is an English-language play by George V. Hobart, part of the light-comedy tradition in American literature, generating humor through witty dialogue and character misplacements. As a free eBook from Project Gutenberg, its core value lies in offering readers a window into early twentieth-century American popular stage texts; the language is lively and strongly scene-driven, making it suitable for research- or interest-driven reading. Because it is a public-domain eBook, the text retains the usage and typographic features of its time, allowing readers direct access to primary source material. When reading, one need not seek complete plot coherence but may focus on the rhythm of the lines and the exaggerated techniques of characterization to appreciate the entertainment logic of stage comedy of that era. It is better suited as supplementary material for literary history or drama studies than as immersive reading in the manner of a contemporary bestseller. For readers who wish to understand early American popular entertainment texts, this is a light and interesting sample.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in early American drama and popular literature
Researchers studying early twentieth-century English stage language
Readers who enjoy light-comedy dialogue and want relaxed reading of the English original

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a complete novel-length plot and deep character development
Readers unaccustomed to early English expression and public-domain eBook formatting

Reading tips

Read through once to feel the rhythm of the dialogue, then revisit scenes marked by character relationships
Read alongside background materials on early twentieth-century American theater history
Do not look up every word; first grasp the main line of comic conflict and character misplacement

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 a novel or a play?

The materials indicate it is an English-language literary work by George V. Hobart, belonging to American literature. The text advances mainly through dialogue and scenes, closer to a stage-comedy reading experience than a traditional novel, and is suitable for reading as a light text excerpt.

Can I read this book if my English is not good?

The text uses early twentieth-century English expression, and some slang and sentence patterns are somewhat distant for contemporary readers. Readers with a basic command of English can read slowly with a dictionary, or first read Chinese background introductions and then compare with the original, focusing on the humorous rhythm of the dialogue rather than word-by-word understanding.

Why is the recommended version a free eBook?

The book is released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain free eBook. This means readers can legally obtain the original text for free, but it also means there are no modern editorial notes or introductions, so readers need to supplement background knowledge themselves; it suits readers capable of independent reading.

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About the author

George V. Hobart (George Vere Hobart; pseud. Hugh McHugh) Author · Canadian-American · 1867–1926

George V. Hobart (born George Vere Hobart; pen name Hugh McHugh, 1867–1926) was a Canadian-born American humorist and playwright. Born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, he later moved to the United States. Under the pen name Hugh McHugh he wrote the "John Henry" series of humorous novels, including You Can Search Me, Skiddoo!, Back to the Woods, Get Next!, The Silly Syclopedia and You Should Worry Says John Henry. His style is playful and witty, relying on colloquial dialogue and absurd situations for comic effect. Beyond fiction, he wrote more than fifty musical comedy scripts and numerous songs, and several of his works were adapted into films. He died in 1926 in Cumberland, Maryland. Public information is limited, and his works belong chiefly to popular humor and musical comedy; six of them are held in this collection.