Lost Diaries

Baring, Maurice, 1874-1945Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 160K words
Chapters: 16

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.Lost Diaries by Maurice BaringAuthor: Baring, Maurice, 1874-1945,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 15, 2013

Editor's review

Lost Diaries is a work by the British writer Maurice Baring, an e-book in the English literature category. Baring lived from 1874 to 1945, and his writing is often marked by wit, satire, and stylistic play. Titled Lost Diaries, the book takes the form of fictional or imitation diaries, and suits readers who enjoy essayistic narrative, ironic manner, and literary wit. Readers need not demand plot-driven progression; instead, they can enjoy it as a set of parodic diary fragments, attending to the narrator's tone, perspective, and underlying humor. Since the data show only that this is a Project Gutenberg e-book, readers should note that it is not a modern annotated edition, and is better suited to casual reading and literary exploration than to scholarly research that depends on detailed notes. Overall, it is a lightweight reader for odd moments, offering a taste of English prose wit.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy English prose and light satirical literature
Those interested in diary form and imitation-diary narrative
Readers who want short literary material for odd moments
Literature lovers curious about early twentieth-century English prose style

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting strong plot and continuous story
Scholars who need detailed historical notes and a scholarly introduction
Readers who prefer contemporary colloquial narrative and are unused to earlier English prose

Reading tips

Read in diary fragments, one or two at a time, without forcing continuous progression.
Note shifts in the narrator's tone and the irony, and make brief annotations as appropriate.
If the English is difficult, learn a little about Baring's life and era first, then return to a close reading.

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

Are the Lost Diaries real diaries or a fictional work?

The data show that the book is a literary work by Maurice Baring in the English literature category. Judging by the title and Baring's style, it is closer to fictional diary literature or imitation diaries than to a compilation of real historical figures' diaries.

Do I need to know British history to read this book?

Systematic historical knowledge is not strictly necessary, but a rough background in early twentieth-century English literature and society helps in appreciating the tone and satire. General readers can also read directly first and look up background when something is unclear.

Is this book suitable for English beginners?

It is not very suitable for English beginners. Baring's work has the syntax and stylistic wit of earlier English prose and may require some foundation in English reading. Beginners can start with a Chinese translation or introductory material, then try the English original.

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About the author

Baring, Maurice, 1874-1945 Author

Maurice Baring (1874–1945) was an English writer whose work ranged across fiction, poetry, fairy tales, literary criticism and memoir. Eight of his books are represented here, including the memoir The Puppet Show of Memory, the fairy-tale collection The Blue Rose Fairy Book, the short-story collections Orpheus in Mayfair, and Other Stories and Sketches and Passing By, as well as Lost Diaries, Overlooked, Poems, 1914–1919 and the critical study An Outline of Russian Literature. These works show him moving easily between light fantasy and fairy tale, the subtle humour of his sketches and stories, and a broad, critically alert engagement with Russian literature. Public information is limited and the details of his life are hard to verify, yet the works above sufficiently reveal his versatility across genres and a style that combines humour with warmth.