Last Words

Crane, Stephen, 1871-1900Project Gutenberg · United StatesMar 2023

3.7

Word count: 382K words
Chapters: 39

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.Last Words by Stephen CraneAuthor: Crane, Stephen, 1871-1900,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Aug 30, 2010

Editor's review

Last Words is a posthumously published collection by the American writer Stephen Crane (1871–1900), released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain e-book. Crane is known for The Red Badge of Courage, and his writing is distinguished by spare, stark imagery and a journalist's sense of the immediate; this book collects mostly short pieces and essay-like writing, showing his ability to establish scene and mood quickly within a short space. Its value for readers lies not in the pleasure of a complete long narrative but in observing how a young writer handles war, poverty, and ordinary people in compressed language; it works well as supplementary reading in American naturalism and realism. As a public-domain electronic text, it lacks modern annotations, and readers must check the background of some pieces themselves; read it alongside Crane's major works.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in late-nineteenth-century American realism and naturalism
Readers who have read The Red Badge of Courage and want to explore Crane's short pieces and essays
Literature students studying English short-form style and journalistic narrative
English-language readers who like spare, stark prose and can accept a fragmentary collection

Not a good fit for

Leisure readers expecting a complete long plot and narrative continuity
Readers with limited English who need a Chinese translation and detailed notes
Readers wholly unfamiliar with late-nineteenth-century American society who do not wish to check references

Reading tips

Read through the table of contents first, start with shorter pieces on clear subjects, then move to longer works.
Read alongside The Red Badge of Courage, noting how Crane compresses scene and mood in short pieces.
After each piece, briefly note the narrative perspective and how the ending is handled to sense recurring patterns in his stark style.
For pieces with unclear historical or newspaper background, check the date of writing and place of publication before rereading.

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 Last Words a complete novel by Crane?

No. It is a collection published after Crane's death, gathering short pieces and essay-like writing, not a novel. Read it as a collection of short stories and miscellaneous prose, not a continuous long narrative.

Can I read this book without having read The Red Badge of Courage?

Yes, but depth of understanding will suffer. Crane's short pieces and essays often relate to his war themes and journalistic background; reading his major work first helps grasp his style and recurring subjects. Reading this book directly requires you to fill in the author's life and the era's background yourself.

Is there a Chinese translation of this book?

This Project Gutenberg edition is an English-language public-domain e-book with the text in English and no Chinese translation. Chinese readers need English reading ability or should read alongside a Chinese translation from another publisher.

Is the text of the public-domain e-book reliable?

Project Gutenberg texts are usually proofread by volunteers, but as public-domain e-books they generally contain no modern scholarly annotations, and there may be occasional typesetting or edition differences. For scholarly citation, check the original publication information and compare other editions.

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About the author

Crane, Stephen, 1871-1900 Author

Stephen Crane (1871–1900) was an American writer who lived to be only twenty-nine. Fifteen of his works are held in this collection, commonly grouped under inspirational coming-of-age reading. His representative works include The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, The Open Boat and Other Stories, The Little Regiment, and Other Episodes of the American Civil War, The Monster and Other Stories, and War is Kind. Drawing mainly on the American Civil War and the lives of the urban poor, his writing is cool and restrained, focusing on how characters respond psychologically and morally in extreme situations and forming a distinctive naturalist and impressionist style. The Red Badge of Courage, with its theme of fear and courage in war, has had a lasting influence, while Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, concerned with poverty and degradation, was controversial when first published. Public information on details of his life, education, and awards is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.