Roughing it De Luxe

Cobb, Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury), 1876-1944Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 175K words
Chapters: 18

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.Roughing it De Luxe by Irvin S. CobbAuthor: Cobb, Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury), 1876-1944,Language: English, Class: F850.5: United States local history: Pacific States, Release Date: Oct 6, 2006

Editor's review

This work is a travel essay by the early twentieth-century American humorist Irvin S. Cobb, a light and witty account of his experiences along the Pacific coast. Cobb excels at generating humor through exaggeration and self-mockery, turning the petty mishaps of travel into rhythmic narrative; readers can glimpse the social scene of the early American West and California. As a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg, it preserves the original English expression and period tone, making it a suitable introductory sample of American regional humorous prose. There is no need to seek plot coherence; it is better suited to dipping into a chapter or two while commuting or before bed, savoring the voice of a traveler who grumbles a little yet thoroughly enjoys himself. For readers studying early twentieth-century American popular literature, local history, or travel writing, the book also has some documentary value.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy American humorous essays and want light English prose
Travel-literature fans interested in the early American West and California
Students of early twentieth-century American popular literature and regional writing
English learners who need short English material for extensive reading practice

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a full plotted novel or rigorous historical scholarship
Beginners with weak English reading skills who need sentence-by-sentence annotations
Readers unaccustomed to a century-old American humorous idiom

Reading tips

Start by skimming the table of contents, sample a chapter with an intriguing title, then decide whether to read the whole book
Don't stop at unfamiliar place names or slang; grasp the joke and narrative tone first
Read alongside a map of the American West and mark the travel route to strengthen the sense of space
Read one or two chapters a day, then retell an amusing passage in your own words

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 a novel or a travel essay?

The source material places it in the local history and travel writing of the United States Pacific States; in fact it is Cobb's first-person record of travel experiences and humorous essays, not a novel with a coherent plot, and can be read chapter by chapter independently.

How difficult is the English?

The original was written in the early twentieth century, with fairly long sentences and period slang and humorous irony; it is not beginner-level English. It suits readers with some foundation in extensive English reading who can tolerate a few unfamiliar words; when encountering difficult sentences, skip the details and grasp the gist.

Why is the author's name listed alongside Project Gutenberg?

The source lists Irvin S. Cobb as the author, while Project Gutenberg is the platform providing this free electronic edition, and its introductory text is the platform's general description. For reading purposes, simply understand Cobb as the actual author of the content.

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About the author

Cobb, Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury), 1876-1944 Author

Irvin S. Cobb (1876–1944) was an American humorist and war correspondent. The library holds twenty-five of his works, which fall roughly into two groups. One is set in a fictional Kentucky town, including Old Judge Priest, Back Home and Fibble, D.D., where characters such as Judge Priest bring Southern local life and manners to the page in a humorous yet warm tone. The other consists of reports and sketches from the First World War, such as The Glory of the Coming, Paths of Glory and Europe Revised, marked by close observation and unhurried narration. His prose stands between the humorous sketch and news reportage, often using colloquial dialogue and exaggerated detail for effect. Public information is limited, so this note describes his writing only as reflected in the works held here.