When a Man Marries

Rinehart, Mary Roberts, 1876-1958Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 297K words
Chapters: 30

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.When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts RinehartAuthor: Rinehart, Mary Roberts, 1876-1958,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Mar 1, 1999

Editor's review

This work exemplifies Mary Roberts Rinehart's early comic style, built around a hasty and absurd marital misunderstanding and driven by a chain of coincidences and mistaken identities. The author excels at generating humor through brisk dialogue and domestic trifles, while weaving in the social conventions, gender roles, and financial pressures of the American middle class of the day, making for a read that is both funny and gently satirical. It is neither as heavy as serious social fiction nor reliant on suspense for thrills; instead, its humor rests on character and scene construction, making it well suited to a few pages on the commute, before bed, or on a weekend afternoon as light reading. As a public-domain e-book, it also offers an accessible entry point for readers curious about early twentieth-century American popular literature: they can see how the author handles comedy of misunderstanding and appreciate the narrative vitality of early women writers in the popular market. One caveat: the language and social backdrop are distant from the present, and some humor depends on the etiquette of the time, so it is best read as an amusing slice of an era rather than a fully contemporary emotional story.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Casual readers who enjoy light comic misunderstandings and domestic fiction
Readers interested in early twentieth-century American popular literature and women's writing
Language learners accustomed to reading English public-domain books in spare moments
Literature enthusiasts drawn to old-fashioned social etiquette and humorous dialogue

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting serious social critique or deep psychological portraiture
Readers who prefer fast-paced suspense, action, or modern urban plots
Beginners with little patience for old-fashioned English and period context

Reading tips

Read the first few chapters to sort out the characters and the origin of the misunderstanding, then follow the plot forward
Don't pause over unfamiliar etiquette or old-fashioned expressions; note them and revisit with context later
Treat it as light bedtime reading, a chapter or two at a time, to keep the comic rhythm easy
After finishing, revisit how the key misunderstanding is created and resolved to appreciate the author's structural design

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 a suspense novel?

No. Rinehart later became famous for suspense writing, but this work leans toward light comedy and domestic misunderstanding, with the humor coming from coincidence, dialogue, and social awkwardness, so don't read it expecting a puzzle to solve.

Is the English original hard to read?

The language is generally accessible, but it is dated, and some etiquette terms and sentence patterns take adjustment. Read a chapter or two to get the rhythm, guess unfamiliar expressions from context, and don't look up every word.

Is it suitable for learning English?

It can serve as extensive reading material: the plot is brisk and dialogue-heavy, which helps familiarize you with narrative English. But the old-fashioned expressions and period background are plentiful, so it shouldn't be your only textbook; use it alongside notes or a guide.

Why read the public-domain e-book?

Public-domain e-books are easy to obtain and low-cost, ideal for readers who want light exposure to early American popular fiction. Just choose an edition with clear formatting and few typos.

Comments

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About the author

Rinehart, Mary Roberts, 1876-1958 Author

Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876–1958) was an American author known for her detective fiction and humorous sketches. The library holds 29 of her works, including The Circular Staircase, The Man in Lower Ten, A Poor Wise Man, The After House, Tish: The Chronicle of Her Escapades and Excursions, Kings, Queens and Pawns: An American Woman at the Front, Tenting To-night, and The Confession. Her detective novels often unfold through female narrators and build suspense from everyday details, creating tension without losing a sense of humor; they have influenced later mystery and detective writing. Public information is limited, so no biographical details are conjectured here, and readers may come to know her narrative style and themes through the works listed above.