Paste Jewels

Bangs, John Kendrick, 1862-1922Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 166K words
Chapters: 17

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. Paste Jewels by John Kendrick Bangs. Author: Bangs, John Kendrick, 1862-1922. Language: English. Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature. Release Date: Nov 20, 2004

Editor's review

Paste Jewels is a work by John Kendrick Bangs, available through Project Gutenberg as a free eBook in the original English. Bangs was known for light, humorous short narratives, and this book continues in his witty style. It serves as an accessible introduction to American popular literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The value of the Project Gutenberg edition lies in its open, easily accessible text, which readers may freely download for personal reading or classroom selection. For readers new to classic American short fiction or wishing to experience the rhythm of English humorous prose, this book offers a low-barrier reading experience. It is best treated as light leisure reading; rather than seeking continuous plot, readers may focus on the linguistic play and period atmosphere. As a public-domain eBook, the formatting and notes are basic, so readers may wish to consult background materials or a guide.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers seeking low-cost access to classic American short fiction
Readers who enjoy English humorous essays and value linguistic play
Teachers needing public-domain English texts for classroom selection
Readers accustomed to e-reading who prefer freely downloadable texts

Not a good fit for

Beginners expecting full annotations and a guide
Readers who prefer long, continuous plots or strong dramatic conflict
Beginners with limited stamina for reading in English

Reading tips

Read one piece first to get a feel for the style, then decide whether to continue; there is no need to finish it in one sitting.
Mark unfamiliar expressions and look them up after finishing a passage to keep your reading rhythm.
Read alongside background materials on late nineteenth-century American society and culture to better grasp the humor.
For teaching, select short pieces for close classroom reading and discuss narrative and language features.

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?

According to the information provided, the book is in English, published by Project Gutenberg as a free public-domain eBook. Reading it requires some English proficiency; it includes no Chinese translation or detailed notes.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg was the first project to offer free eBooks, and its editions generally follow open-access principles, with texts that can be downloaded directly. The formatting and notes are basic, making it suitable for personal reading or classroom selection, but readers should not expect the kind of reading support found in a scholarly annotated edition.

Can I read it without relevant background knowledge?

You can, but understanding the humor and period context may require some background knowledge. It is advisable to read one or two pieces first to get a feel for the style, then decide whether to consult materials on American society and culture from the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Bangs, John Kendrick, 1862-1922 Author

John Kendrick Bangs (1862–1922) was an American humorist and editor whose life is not widely documented in Chinese-language sources, and public information about him remains limited. The collection here includes 38 of his works, commonly grouped under inspirational and personal-growth reading. Representative titles include The Pursuit of the House-Boat, Olympian Nights, The Water Ghost and Others, The Enchanted Typewriter, R. Holmes & Co., A House-Boat on the Styx, and Toppleton's Client Or, A Spirit in Exile. His writing is known for lighthearted fantasy and parody, often weaving mythology, detective fiction, and the supernatural into satirical comedy with a playful, witty tone. Such works hold a distinctive place in English-language popular literature and have inspired later humorous fantasy fiction, offering today's readers an entertaining glimpse into late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century English comic writing.