Washington Irving

Warner, Charles Dudley, 1829-1900Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 351K words
Chapters: 36

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.Washington Irving by Charles Dudley WarnerAuthor: Warner, Charles Dudley, 1829-1900,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 10, 2004

Editor's review

This book is Charles Dudley Warner's critical biography of Washington Irving, part of the tradition of American literary criticism and biographical writing. Warner, who co-wrote The Gilded Age with Mark Twain, was himself an essayist and critic; his account of Irving combines the perspective of a contemporary with the elegant style of nineteenth-century literary criticism. The book centers on Irving's life and work, discussing the significance of his essays, stories, and travel writings in the formative years of American literature, offering readers insight into how Irving, with his gentle humor, shaped the early face of the American short narrative and essay. Note that this is a critical biography, not a modern scholarly biography; written early, its use of sources and judgments bear the marks of its time, and readers should approach it as literary history rather than as textual scholarship. As a public-domain ebook, it serves as a sample of early American critical prose and is well suited to being read alongside Irving's own works.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the early development of American literary history
Readers currently reading Irving who wish to see contemporary criticism
Students studying nineteenth-century biography and literary criticism as forms
Readers who enjoy the English essay style of critical commentary

Not a good fit for

Researchers seeking modern scholarly verification and annotation
Beginning readers who need a Chinese translation or bilingual text
Readers seeking only Irving's original works rather than commentary

Reading tips

Read one or two representative works by Irving first, then return to Warner's commentary to compare
Read the book as literary-historical material, noting the tone and assumptions of nineteenth-century criticism
Read alongside a history of American literature textbook to fill in the background

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 written by Washington Irving?

No. The author is Charles Dudley Warner; the book is a critical biography of Irving, not a work by Irving himself. Readers should distinguish the commentator from the subject.

Is this book suitable as a primary source for Irving studies?

It should not be the sole or primary scholarly basis. Written early and representing contemporary commentary, it lacks annotation and verification under modern scholarly standards. It is better used as a reference for literary history and critical style, in conjunction with modern research.

What should I note when reading the electronic edition?

This is a public-domain ebook, and typesetting and proofreading depend on the source version, so formatting may be inconsistent. Note the chapter divisions while reading and check quotations against other editions if necessary.

Comments

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About the author

Warner, Charles Dudley, 1829-1900 Author

Charles Dudley Warner (1829–1900) was an American writer and editor, with fifty-seven of his works held in this catalog. His subjects are notably wide-ranging: there are familiar essays on gardening and everyday leisure such as My Summer in a Garden, a study of a fellow writer in Washington Irving, and travel accounts of foreign places, including In the Levant, My Winter on the Nile and Our Italy, the last concerning Italy. The chapters associated with The Gilded Age indicate that he also took part in writing on social themes. The catalog classifies him under inspirational growth, suggesting that some of his works carry a tone of counsel and self-reflection. Public information is limited, so rather than dwelling on biographical detail, readers may begin with his essays and travel writings and appreciate their easy, unhurried style and close observation.