The Blue Tower

Evelyn E. SmithProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 31K words
Chapters: 4

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.The Blue Tower by Evelyn E. SmithAuthor: Smith, Evelyn E., 1922-2000,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 20, 2007

Editor's review

The Blue Tower is an English-language work by American author Evelyn E. Smith, released as a free eBook by Project Gutenberg. Smith was active in mid-twentieth-century American popular fiction and science fiction magazines, and her work often features brisk pacing and clever plotting. The book is short, making it a good introduction to her style and easy to read through quickly on an e-reader. Since public-domain eBooks come without an introduction or notes, readers must work out character relationships and plot developments themselves, and should watch for humor and irony in dialogue and scene transitions. For readers studying twentieth-century American popular fiction or short science fiction, this is an easily accessible, fully searchable primary text; for general readers, it works well as light practice reading in the original English. Read it through once to grasp the story, then revisit key passages to appreciate how the author builds suspense and turns within a limited space.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to practice reading original English texts and prefer short works
Those interested in twentieth-century American popular fiction and science fiction magazine writing
Teachers who need public-domain English texts for language analysis or classroom materials
eBook users who enjoy brisk narration and reading in spare moments

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for in-depth literary criticism or a heavily annotated edition
Readers who prefer long, complex plots and have no interest in short forms
Beginners whose English reading is not yet strong enough and who need a Chinese parallel text

Reading tips

Read the whole story once without looking up unfamiliar words, focusing on the overall plot and character relationships.
On a second pass, revisit the key turning points and note how the author handles dialogue and scene transitions.
If using the book for language study, copy typical sentence patterns for imitation exercises and compile a vocabulary list.
Read it alongside other public-domain short stories by Smith to observe the consistency of her narrative style.

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

What language is this book in? Is it long?

It is an English-language eBook and a short work, so it is not long; it can be read in several sessions on an e-reader and works well for English reading practice.

What is the background of author Evelyn E. Smith?

Smith was a twentieth-century American writer whose work appeared mainly in popular fiction and science fiction magazines. This book is one of her public-domain works; for biographical details, consult reliable author sources rather than inferring from this book alone.

Does this book have notes or an introduction?

Project Gutenberg editions usually provide only the text, without notes or an introduction. Readers need to look up background information themselves or actively sort out the characters and plot as they read.

Is it suitable for classroom teaching materials?

It can be used as public-domain English short fiction material, and it is easy to search and print in full. Teachers will need to supply background information and discussion questions themselves and verify the edition information.

Comments

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About the author

Evelyn E. Smith Author · American · 1922–2000

Evelyn E. Smith (1922–2000) was an American writer of science fiction and mystery fiction, born in New York, who also worked as a crossword puzzle constructor. In the 1950s she published numerous short science fiction stories in magazines such as Galaxy Science Fiction and Fantastic Universe. Her representative works include "The Blue Tower," "The Venus Trap" and "The Doorway," along with "The Most Sentimental Man," "Collector's Item," "The Princess and the Physicist" and "The Man Outside"; seventeen of her works are held in this collection. Her short stories often treat alien contact, gender relations and consumer society with wit and humour, showing neat plotting and a satirical edge. Under the pen name Delphine C. Lyons she also wrote Gothic romances and the "Miss Melville" mystery series. Public information about her life is limited, and discussion of her work focuses mainly on these magazine stories and her genre fiction.