Reprinted Pieces

Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 519K words
Chapters: 52

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.Reprinted Pieces by Charles DickensAuthor: Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 1, 1997

Editor's review

Reprinted Pieces is a collection of essays, sketches and short stories Dickens wrote for periodicals—lighter work that stands apart from his longer novels. The pieces draw chiefly on nineteenth-century English city life, ordinary characters, travel impressions and social observation, shifting between humor, sentiment and satire; they reveal both the journalist's sharp eye and the novelist's gift for characterization. For readers familiar with Oliver Twist or A Tale of Two Cities, this collection offers a side window onto his raw material and the context of his era: many character sketches and social themes were later developed more fully in the novels. This is the Project Gutenberg public-domain electronic edition, in the original English. It suits readers extending their reading of Dickens and those curious about Victorian periodical prose; it can be dipped into at leisure. There is no need to read it straight through—reading by piece suits its essayistic nature.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who have read Dickens's major novels and want to explore his short pieces and essays
Literature enthusiasts studying Victorian social customs and periodical writing
Learners with good English who want to practice reading original English texts through short pieces

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a complete, continuous novel plot may find it loose
Beginners who still struggle with English reading and need notes and translation
Newcomers who only want Dickens's most famous novels

Reading tips

Read by piece, one or two at a time, to avoid fatigue from continuous reading.
Prioritize pieces on city life and social issues, and cross-reference them with Dickens's novels.
When unfamiliar with the period background, read the endnote context first, then return to the main text.
When reading the original English, note new words and typical Victorian sentence patterns to build a feel for the language.

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 a Dickens novel?

No. It is a collection of essays, sketches and short stories Dickens wrote for periodicals—short, varied in subject, closer to journalistic observation and character sketches, and different in structure and method from novels such as A Tale of Two Cities.

Can I read it without having read other Dickens works?

You can, but your depth of understanding will be limited. These pieces often share period background and character types with his novels; having read one or two major novels first makes it easier to see how the material and themes echo.

Is this edition in Chinese or English?

According to the information, this is the English public-domain eBook released by Project Gutenberg, with the original English text and no Chinese translation; reading it requires some English proficiency.

Comments

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About the author

Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870 Author

Charles Dickens (Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870) is one of the most influential novelists in the history of English literature. The library holds 115 of his works, including novels, novellas and short stories; representative titles include The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol. He was known for serialized fiction, with plot twists and vivid characters, and he used humor and satire to portray Victorian society, paying particular attention to poor children, the lower classes and education, and his works often convey warmth and moral concern. In the library his works are often classified under "inspirational growth," and many of his novels have been adapted for stage and screen and are widely circulated. Public information about the details of his life is limited, so no speculation is offered here.