The Frame Up

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

3.2

Word count: 43K 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 Frame Up by Richard Harding DavisAuthor: Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jul 1, 1999

Editor's review

The Frame Up is another short work by Richard Harding Davis, also from Project Gutenberg's free eBook collection. The title points directly to a "frame-up," suggesting a story built around misunderstanding, conspiracy, or a miscarriage of justice, with clear elements of suspense and plot reversal. Davis began as a journalist and was skilled at establishing suspense quickly within a limited space, driving conflict forward, and revealing the truth through dialogue. The book is a useful sample of his popular narrative technique: how characters react under pressure, the tension created by gaps in information, and the way the ending is drawn together all show his precise control of the reader's attention. As a public-domain text, it is freely available for study or research. Readers might note the shifts in narrative perspective and the timing of key pieces of evidence, and consider how a short suspense story is constructed.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy short suspense stories with plot reversals
Literature enthusiasts studying Davis's popular narrative technique
English learners who need public-domain English texts for reading practice
Readers interested in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century American popular fiction

Not a good fit for

Mystery fans expecting rigorous formal detection and elaborate tricks
Beginners uncomfortable with earlier English usage who are unwilling to look up words
Readers who prefer the deep character development of full-length novels

Reading tips

Read straight through for the plot first, then note how the author plants clues and creates misunderstandings
Before reading, consider the meaning of the title and enter the text asking "who is framing whom"
Read alongside Peace Manoeuvres to compare how Davis handles military and suspense material
For the English original, keep a character map to avoid confusing roles in the dense dialogue

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

Does this story contain detective elements?

It has suspense and a frame-up plot, but it leans toward misunderstanding and reversal in popular narrative rather than rigorous formal detection. Readers can enjoy the tension of the unfolding plot, but should not expect the elaborate trickery of a puzzle mystery.

Is it suitable for English beginners?

Not really for complete beginners. The text is early-twentieth-century English, with period sentence patterns and vocabulary and a good deal of dialogue. Readers with intermediate English who are willing to look up words will find it smoother going.

Why is there no modern introduction in the Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg mainly provides public-domain electronic texts and usually does not include modern scholarly introductions or notes. Readers who want background can look up the author's life and the period, or consult relevant literary histories alongside the text.

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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.