The Third String

William Wymark JacobsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 24K words
Chapters: 3

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 Third String 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

The Third String is another short story by W. W. Jacobs, released as a public-domain ebook by Project Gutenberg. The title itself hints at a kind of "fallback" or "third resort," fitting Jacobs's usual method of revealing larger truths through small incidents and of moving the story forward with misunderstandings and coincidences. The text is short and the English original is clear, making it a light read for getting to know the British popular short-story tradition. Its value lies in seeing how the author achieves characterization and a plot twist within a limited space, and it also offers a reference point for learning the structure of English short fiction. The electronic edition is convenient to dip into on a phone or e-reader, suitable for casual reading challenges and as discussion material for an English corner or book club.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English readers who enjoy short humorous stories
Students looking to build up their reading of English short fiction
Organizers who need light public-domain texts for book-club material
Readers interested in the history of British popular literature

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting complex character arcs and long-form narrative
Readers who rely entirely on Chinese translations
Readers with little patience for old-fashioned English expression

Reading tips

Read straight through the first time without looking up words, to feel the rhythm and the ending's twist.
On the second pass, mark key lines in the dialogue and analyze the characters' real intentions.
Try writing a summary of the story in two or three sentences to practice summarizing in English.
Read the same piece with a friend and discuss whether the ending is convincing.

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 connected to the author's Dixon's Return?

Both are standalone short stories by W. W. Jacobs, published separately by Project Gutenberg, with no sequel or character connection between them. They can be read independently or compared side by side for the author's narrative technique.

How difficult is the English original?

It is a popular short story with fairly short sentences, but it contains many colloquial expressions and period terms. Readers with roughly CET-4 level English who are used to reading original short texts will find it manageable; if it feels hard, look up words or read a Chinese summary first to get familiar with the plot.

Is it suitable as English-learning material?

It works well for extensive reading: short, with a complete plot, easy to finish in one sitting and retell. But since it has no notes or exercises, intensive study of language points requires readers to collect vocabulary and sentence patterns themselves, or a teacher to add tasks.

Comments

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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.