Short-Stories

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 433K words
Chapters: 44

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-Stories by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson et al.Author: ,Language: English, Class: PN: Language and Literatures: Literature: General, Criticism, Collections, Release Date: Jun 1, 2004

Editor's review

This is an early English-language short story anthology released by Project Gutenberg, collecting works by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and others. Its core value lies not in a single masterpiece by a famous author, but in offering a window onto European short fiction from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century: concise in length, traditional in narrative, and vivid in character sketches, it is well suited to reading multiple pieces side by side to sense the tastes of the era. As a public-domain electronic text, it is plainly typeset and without notes; the main barrier to reading lies in language and background knowledge. For researchers, it can serve as primary material for the history of the short story and for translation studies; for general readers, it is more like a collection to dip into at will, easy to read one piece on a commute or before bed. One caveat: the original is in English, and the quality and themes of the pieces are uneven, so there is no need to read from start to finish; picking by interest is more suitable.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to experience nineteenth-century European narrative style through original English short stories
Students of English or American literature or translation who need public-domain texts as study materials
Those who like short stories, are used to fragmented reading, and are willing to read in English
Book history enthusiasts interested in Project Gutenberg and early forms of e-books

Not a good fit for

Readers hoping for a modern anthology with a unified theme and careful editing
Beginners who struggle with English reading and need detailed notes and introductions
Readers who prefer long, continuous narratives and dislike multi-author collections

Reading tips

First browse the table of contents and pick a piece by title or author that interests you; there is no need to proceed in order.
After each piece, jot down your impressions in one or two sentences to compare different authors' narrative techniques.
Skip unfamiliar names and places at first and look back after finishing the whole piece, so as not to disrupt the reading rhythm.
If using it for research, consult authors' biographies and historical background alongside the text to supplement information beyond it.

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 the original English, and what language level is needed?

Yes, it is in the original English, with the text from Project Gutenberg. The wording is generally nineteenth-century written English with many long sentences; a reading level of CET-4 or above is recommended, or a willingness to read slowly with a dictionary. If you only want the gist of the stories, you can also read alongside a translation.

Are the themes and styles of the short stories in the collection uniform?

No. This is a multi-author collection; the pieces differ markedly in subject, length, and technique, and vary in quality. Its value lies precisely in presenting the diverse face of short fiction of that period, making it suitable for selective reading rather than expecting a coherent through-line.

Does the electronic edition have notes or an introduction?

As a public-domain electronic text, it usually contains only the main text, lacking the notes, introduction, and author biographies of modern editions. When you encounter historical background or allusions, you need to look them up yourself. For researchers this is primary material; for general readers, it is advisable to pair it with relevant literary history sources.

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

Project Gutenberg Author

Project Gutenberg is not a single author but a nonprofit digital library founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and one of the world's earliest free ebook platforms. It relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and freely distribute public-domain works and is now operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Its collection contains 2,692 works, mainly religious texts, epics, and story collections, including the King James Bible and the Douay-Rheims volumes, the epic Mahabharata, a literal translation of the Arabian Nights, and Danish editions of the Old and New Testaments. Public information is limited, and its nature is closer to a public-interest compiling and dissemination body; these texts are open to the public, easy to consult and circulate, and have had a profound influence on the spread of ebooks and the preservation of public-domain resources.