The Well

William Wymark JacobsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

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 Well 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 Well is one of Jacobs's short stories, continuing his method of opening with an ordinary situation and closing with a surprise. The story revolves around a well and the related human relationships; the narration is unhurried, the conflict understated, yet tension builds in the details. The value of such work lies not in grand themes but in showing how a short story can complete a character sketch and a plot twist within limited space. For English readers, the text is colloquial with much dialogue, making it suitable material for practicing comprehension of British humor and understated expression; for literary readers, it serves as an introductory sample of the British popular short-story tradition. When reading, note the narrator's subtle control of attitude toward the characters and the order in which information is revealed at the end. The public-domain ebook is easy to obtain and suits short reading sessions on a commute or before bed.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Intermediate learners who want to build English reading volume with original short stories
Short-story readers who enjoy plot twists and understated irony
Literature lovers interested in British short fiction from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting strong dramatic conflict or suspense and thrills
Readers who need a study edition with detailed notes or a bilingual edition
Readers who prefer contemporary writing styles and are unused to old-fashioned narrative pacing

Reading tips

First reading: focus on the characters' relationships; second reading: note the details and hints the author plants.
After reading, retell the ending twist in your own words to check whether you grasped the key information.
Read this alongside other Jacobs short stories and summarize his common narrative structures.

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 genre does this story belong to?

It belongs to the tradition of British short humorous fiction, known for everyday characters and a lightly ironic tone, often with a twist at the end. It is not horror or suspense, though the title may suggest so.

What level is needed to read the original?

Intermediate English reading ability is recommended. The dialogue contains old-fashioned colloquialisms and slang; if you get stuck, learn the plot outline first and then read the original, focusing on tone and implication.

Does the ebook have notes or an introduction?

This edition is a public-domain electronic text, usually containing only the main text, generally without notes or introduction. For support, look up background on the author and work yourself, or read with a dictionary.

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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.