The Consul

Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.5

Word count: 42K words
Chapters: 5

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 Consul by Richard Harding DavisAuthor: Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 1, 1999

Editor's review

Richard Harding Davis's short story "The Consul" is brief, yet it distills the narrative craft he honed as an American journalist in the late nineteenth century: scenes shift cleanly, dialogue is brisk, and suspense and irony often turn lightly at the close. Built around the diplomatic role of the consul, the story touches on the plight of Americans abroad and the pull between propriety and private desire; it reads with the fluency of popular fiction and also with a cool-eyed observation of human weakness. As a public-domain e-book, it suits readers curious about American short fiction of the Gilded Age and English learners seeking a manageable text in the original. As you read, note the narrator's ambiguous attitude toward "civilization" and "savagery"—that is where Davis's work rewards lingering.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who enjoy late nineteenth-century American short stories
English learners who want to improve their reading through short original texts
Readers interested in American diplomacy and expatriate life abroad
English teachers who need short texts for the classroom

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer long, complex narratives and deep psychological portraiture
Readers expecting a contemporary setting or a Chinese translation
Readers sensitive to outdated gender and racial representations

Reading tips

Read through once for plot, then revisit key dialogues to appreciate the narrator's ironic tone.
Keep pen and paper handy to note place names and characters' identities, and clarify relationships in the overseas setting.
Read alongside other Davis stories to observe his habitual use of the closing twist.
English learners can read each paragraph aloud, look up unfamiliar words, and then retell the story.

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 a novel or a short story?

"The Consul" is a short work by Richard Harding Davis. It is limited in length and can be finished in one or two sittings; there is no need to plan your reading at a novel's pace.

Can I read it without a Chinese translation?

Current information indicates this is an English public-domain e-book released by Project Gutenberg, with no Chinese translation mentioned. Readers can go directly to the English original, or use a dictionary and supporting tools to aid comprehension.

Do I need to know the author's background before reading?

Not necessarily. Davis reported events in many places as a journalist, and that experience shaped his material and technique, but the story stands on its own. Knowing this can help you appreciate its sense of immediacy and its irony.

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About the author

Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916 Author

Richard Harding Davis (1864–1916) was an American writer and war correspondent, with 49 works held in this collection. Public information is limited, yet the range of his writing can be seen from the titles listed here: he wrote both war reportage and fiction and character sketches. Notes of a War Correspondent records a reporter's firsthand experiences in the field, Real Soldiers of Fortune tells of adventurous soldiers, while Gallegher and Other Stories and Van Bibber and Others show his skill in the short story, with a light touch and a gift for portraying city life and a variety of characters. His works are often classed as inspirational coming-of-age reading and have circulated among young readers, combining the immediacy of journalism with the readability of fiction; they have influenced later war reporting and popular narrative.