Scattergood Baines

Kelland, Clarence Budington, 1881-1964Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 487K words
Chapters: 49

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.Scattergood Baines by Clarence Budington KellandAuthor: Kelland, Clarence Budington, 1881-1964,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Aug 27, 2004

Editor's review

Scattergood Baines is a novel by the American writer Clarence Budington Kelland and belongs to the category of American and Canadian literature. Through the experiences of its protagonist, Scattergood Baines, the book presents the figure of a shrewd, practical country businessman, with a flavor of humor and observation of the ways of the world. Kelland was skilled at creating down-to-earth characters and brisk dialogue, and this work can serve as a sample for understanding the style of early twentieth-century American popular fiction. As a public-domain ebook from Project Gutenberg, the original English text is available to readers free of charge, and it suits reading in installments during fragmented time such as commutes or before bed. The plot advances through confrontations between characters and everyday wisdom, and the language is relatively plain, without striving for difficult rhetoric. For readers who want to practice English reading while hoping for a light and interesting story, this is an entry-level book worth trying; for readers studying American popular literature or Kelland's writing, it can also be browsed as a basic text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English learners who want to practice reading through light English fiction
Readers interested in early twentieth-century American popular literature
Readers who enjoy stories about country businessmen and humorous observations of the ways of the world
People who need free public-domain ebooks for fragmented reading

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting profound social criticism or complex literary structure
Readers who need a Chinese translation and are not used to reading the English original
Readers who prefer fast-paced suspense or strong plot conflict

Reading tips

Read the first two chapters first to get used to the characters' voice, then read in batches by chapter; there is no need to finish it all at once.
When you meet unfamiliar expressions, guess the meaning from context and keep reading smoothly; there is no need to check every word.
You can keep brief notes on character relationships to help understand the interests and personal feelings in country social life.
If using it for English study, choose a passage of dialogue for reading aloud or retelling practice.

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 public-domain ebook released by Project Gutenberg. The main text is in English and no Chinese translation is included, so it suits readers with some foundation in English reading.

Can I read it without having read other works by Kelland?

Yes. This book is a standalone story and does not depend on prior knowledge from the author's other works; you can start directly from Chapter One and enter the characters and plot.

Is this book suitable for learning English?

It is suitable as extensive reading material. The language is generally colloquial and plain, with a good deal of dialogue, but it contains early twentieth-century usage. When you meet unfamiliar expressions, understand them from context; it is not recommended as a textbook for complete beginners.

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

Kelland, Clarence Budington, 1881-1964 Author

Clarence Budington Kelland (1881–1964) was an American author. Public information about his life and nationality is limited, but the library holds twelve of his works, which offer a glimpse of his writing. He is best known for a series of novels featuring the boy Mark Tidd, such as Mark Tidd in the Backwoods, Mark Tidd: His Adventures and Strategies, and Mark Tidd's Citadel, which center on the adventures and clever schemes of young people; the plots are brisk and humorous, with a strong flavor of small-town America. Other works, including Scattergood Baines, Sudden Jim, The Highflyers, Catty Atkins, and Youth Challenges, likewise take vivid ordinary characters and everyday town life as their subjects. His prose is plain and lively, and he moves the story forward through dialogue. Overall, his writing is light and witty, emphasizing characterization and homely humor, and is suited to popular reading.