Marjorie Daw

Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, 1836-1907Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 40K words
Chapters: 5

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.Marjorie Daw by Thomas Bailey AldrichAuthor: Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, 1836-1907,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 1, 1999

Editor's review

Marjorie Daw is a well-known short story by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, often regarded as a clever tale told through letters and built on imagination and misunderstanding. Its strength lies not in grand themes but in narrative technique: the exchange of letters creates gaps in information, letting readers follow shifts in relationships and the pleasures of reversal in a light tone. Aldrich's language is concise and humorous, and the piece is short enough to read in one sitting or to use as a sample for discussing narrative technique in class or a reading group. As a public-domain Project Gutenberg English ebook, it is easy to obtain and suited to extensive reading and literary beginners. As you read, notice how the epistolary form shapes the reader's judgment of the truth; this reveals more of the story's cleverness than simply following the plot.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers interested in epistolary narrative and short-story technique
English learners who want to practice close reading with a short English original
Teachers and organizers who need material for class or reading-group discussion
Readers who enjoy light, humorous, short nineteenth-century American fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer long epics or elaborate world-building
Readers who read only Chinese translations and do not want to engage with the English original
Readers expecting intense action or modern suspense pacing

Reading tips

Read through the letters in order the first time; on the second pass, note how the information gaps are created
After reading, outline the function of each letter and mark the key passages that drive the turns
Read the letters aloud with friends in roles to feel the tone and relationships
As close-reading material, choose two or three letters for sentence-by-sentence language analysis

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 work a novel or a short story?

According to the source information, it is one of Aldrich's short works, brief enough to read in one sitting. Exact page count varies with ebook formatting; readers can check the text length on the Project Gutenberg page.

What is the relationship between the title and the story?

Marjorie Daw is a key character in the story, and the plot unfolds around the letters connected with her. As you read, notice how the letters shape the characters rather than looking for a plot summary in advance.

Is it suitable for reading-group discussion?

It is short and offers room for discussion of narrative technique, so it suits reading groups. Discussion questions can focus on the information gaps created by the epistolary form and the gap between imagination and truth, helping members engage quickly.

Comments

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About the author

Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, 1836-1907 Author

Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836–1907) was an American writer and poet. The library holds 19 of his works, spanning fiction, poetry, and essays. Among them, The Story of a Bad Boy is the best known, alongside novels such as The Queen of Sheba, Marjorie Daw, and Daisy's Necklace, and poetry collections including The Sisters' Tragedy, with Other Poems, Lyrical and Dramatic. His writing often depicts childhood and everyday characters in a light, humorous tone, with fresh narration and a strong sense of life. The Story of a Bad Boy is regarded as a pioneering work of coming-of-age fiction told from a boy's perspective, and it has influenced later American juvenile literature. Public information on the details of his life is limited, so this entry makes no speculation.