Short Cruises

William Wymark JacobsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 271K words
Chapters: 28

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. Short Cruises by W. W. Jacobs. Author: Jacobs, W. W. (William Wymark), 1863-1943, Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Sep 1, 2004

Editor's review

Short Cruises is a collection of short stories by the British writer W. W. Jacobs, known for his humorous depictions of sailors, dock life, and the everyday lives of ordinary citizens. The book continues his light, witty narrative style, with short stories and concentrated settings suited to reading in spare moments. For readers who want to explore British short fiction of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it offers an easy entry point; for those studying Jacobs's work, it is also a usable public-domain text. As a Project Gutenberg ebook, the text is freely available, making it convenient for comparative reading or excerpting. Note that the stories carry distinctly period language and humor, and some expressions require context to understand. Overall, this is a collection of sketches suited to leisure reading and as an introduction to literature.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Leisure readers who enjoy light British humorous short stories
Literature lovers who want to understand Jacobs's style
Learners who need short texts for English extensive reading practice

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer long, continuous plots and deep character development
Readers less receptive to old-fashioned English expressions and humor

Reading tips

Read one or two stories at a time during commutes or before bed; there is no need to read continuously
When you encounter period language, guess from context first and review after finishing the story to keep your reading rhythm
Pick one story you like and read it closely several times to appreciate the humor in the dialogue and twists

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 there a continuous plot across these stories?

Generally no. As a short story collection, the stories are mostly self-contained, with their own characters and settings, and are suited to reading individually at random. Readers need not read in order and will not lose a main thread by skipping around; they can choose freely based on length and interest.

Can I read this if my English is only average?

You can try, but you need some vocabulary. The language has period flavor, and some expressions differ from contemporary English. Start with a shorter story, use a dictionary or notes as needed, and continue once you get into the rhythm; do not expect to understand every detail at once.

Comments

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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.