Odd Craft, Complete

William Wymark JacobsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 324K words
Chapters: 33

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.Odd Craft, Complete by W. W. JacobsAuthor: Jacobs, W. W. (William Wymark), 1863-1943,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 1, 2004

Editor's review

This work is a collection of short stories and novellas by the English writer W. W. Jacobs, set against seafaring life and ordinary townsfolk, using light satire to show ordinary people at their most awkward amid mishaps and schemes. Jacobs excels at advancing plot through dialogue; the pace is brisk, and the humor often lands at the moment a character thinks himself cleverest, making for an easy read that still offers observations on human weakness. This is an English-language e-text from Project Gutenberg, preserving the language of the original, suitable as an introduction to reading English literature and for readers curious about the pleasures of late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century British popular fiction. There is no need to seek grand plots; instead, notice the narrator's calm tone and the contrast between characters' words and actions—this restraint is the source of the humor. Suitable for reading in segments on a commute or before bed; each story stands relatively independent, so you can stop at any time.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy British humor and satirical short stories
Learners who want to practice reading with light English originals
Readers interested in seafaring subjects and stories of ordinary townsfolk
Readers who need fragmented reading material and prefer self-contained pieces

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting tense plots or strong dramatic conflict
Beginners unused to English originals who need Chinese notes for support
Readers who prefer long, continuous narratives and dislike short-story collections

Reading tips

Read one or two stories at a time, and afterward recall which character's misjudgment the humor turned on.
Mark nautical terms or dialect expressions first, then look them up together after finishing the whole piece.
Compare with other short-story collections by the same author to observe how his satirical techniques repeat and vary.

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 in Chinese or English?

This is an English-language e-text released by Project Gutenberg; the main text is in English, with no Chinese translation or notes. It suits readers with some foundation in English reading who are willing to engage directly with the original.

Do I need to read it in order from beginning to end?

No. The stories are relatively independent, so you can start with any one and choose according to interest. If you want to feel the development of the author's style, you can also read straight through in table-of-contents order.

Is it suitable for learning English?

It can serve as extensive reading material; the language is mainly narration and dialogue, and the pieces are short. But the text is from an earlier period, and some expressions and nautical terms are distant from modern English, so it is best to focus on understanding plot and tone rather than reading word by word.

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About the author

William Wymark Jacobs Author · British · 1863–1943

William Wymark Jacobs (1863–1943) was a British short-story writer, born in London in 1863 and died there in 1943. In his early years he lived around the Thames docks and was familiar with the lives of sailors and dockworkers, which led him to write a great many humorous sea stories, often in a light and witty tone. His best-known work, The Monkey's Paw, is a classic horror short story included in The Lady of the Barge (1902); noted for its tight suspense and sudden twists, it is still widely anthologized in horror collections. The library holds 109 of his works, including The Lady of the Barge and Others, Ship's Company, A Tiger's Skin, Captains All, and Night Watches; his common category is inspirational growth. Public information is limited and details of his life are largely unavailable, yet his fiction is distinctive in subject, blending humor with horror, and has had a lasting influence on later short-story writing.