Stepping Backwards

William Wymark JacobsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 19K words
Chapters: 2

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.Stepping Backwards by W. W. JacobsAuthor: Jacobs, W. W. (William Wymark), 1863-1943,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 1, 2004

Editor's review

This is a short work by W. W. Jacobs, made available as a free e-book by Project Gutenberg. Jacobs is known for his English short stories, which often blend humour with a touch of the grotesque and excel at producing unexpected turns in ordinary situations. The book is short and in English, and as a public-domain literary resource it offers a light entry point into English short narrative of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The e-book format makes it easy to open on a phone or e-reader at any time, and it works well as extensive reading material to be read in instalments on a commute or before bed. Note that this edition comes from a public-domain e-book project: the text is the original English with no Chinese notes or introduction, so a dictionary may be needed. Overall it suits readers who already have some English reading ability and want light exposure to classic short stories, rather than those seeking in-depth literary analysis or a systematic textbook.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with some English who want to read classic short stories extensively
Literature lovers who enjoy humour and twist endings
Learners who need light public-domain English texts for reading practice
Readers who like to read short pieces on an e-reader whenever they have time

Not a good fit for

Beginners with weak English who need Chinese notes
Readers looking for a systematic literary introduction or academic analysis
Readers who prefer long, continuous narratives over short pieces

Reading tips

Read through once to follow the plot, then go back to the wording at key turning points.
Keep an e-dictionary handy; try to guess unfamiliar words from context before looking them up.
Read one or two stories at a time, then summarise the plot in your own words.
Read alongside other stories by the same author and note recurring features of his humour.

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?

The text is in the original English. This edition comes from the Project Gutenberg public-domain e-book project and has no Chinese translation or notes, so some English ability is needed; a dictionary or bilingual tool can help.

Is it suitable for English beginners to read directly?

Not really for complete beginners or elementary readers. Jacobs's stories are short, but their vocabulary and sentence patterns carry period features, and beginners may get stuck on details. It is better to have intermediate reading ability first, or to choose an annotated edition.

What should I keep in mind when reading the e-book?

This is a public-domain electronic text, mostly plain text, and may lack the layout of a printed book. Use reading software with adjustable font size and night mode, and read in sections to avoid eye strain from long screen sessions.

What can I get from reading this book?

You can encounter the pacing and humorous twists of Jacobs's short stories and get a feel for English short fiction of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, while using it as light extensive reading to build vocabulary and reading stamina. It is not suitable as the sole basis for literary research.

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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.