A List To Starboard

Smith, Francis Hopkinson, 1838-1915Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 31K words
Chapters: 4

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.A List To Starboard by Francis Hopkinson SmithAuthor: Smith, Francis Hopkinson, 1838-1915,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 3, 2007

Editor's review

A List To Starboard is a short work by the American writer Francis Hopkinson Smith, classified under American and Canadian literature. Smith was known for maritime and travel subjects, and this piece likewise has a clear nautical setting and a light narrative pace; the image of "listing" in the title also hints at possible imbalance and turns in the story. It is short enough to finish in one sitting on a commute or before bed, and to enjoy the flavor and tone of late nineteenth-century American popular fiction. While reading, pay attention to the narrator's descriptions of sea scenes and the tone of the characters' dialogue, as these two points best reflect the author's personal style. Since this is a public-domain ebook, the text has no modern annotations; when encountering unfamiliar nautical terms or period background, first guess from context and look them up afterward rather than interrupting the reading rhythm.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy late nineteenth-century American short stories
General readers interested in sea and maritime stories
Office workers who want to read a complete short story in fragmented time
Readers studying American public-domain literature who need source texts

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer long, complex plots and deep character development
Beginning English readers who need modern annotations and background introductions
Readers completely unfamiliar with nautical terms and period background who are unwilling to look them up

Reading tips

Readable in one sitting: first grasp the overall direction of the story, then revisit the foreshadowing planted at the beginning.
Pay attention to descriptions of sea scenes and character dialogue to appreciate the author's light narrative tone.
When encountering nautical terms, first understand them from context and look them up afterward without interrupting the rhythm.
If the English original is difficult, first learn about common approaches in late nineteenth-century American short stories.

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

About how long is this work, and how long does it take to read?

It is a short piece, usually readable in one or two sittings. It suits fragmented time such as commuting or before bed; no chapter planning is needed—just read from start to finish for a complete reading experience.

What does the title "A List To Starboard" mean?

Literally it refers to a ship leaning to the right, a nautical term. Used as a title, it often hints at imbalance, accident, or a turn in the story. How exactly it echoes the plot in the text must be felt by the reader during reading; it is best not to spoil it in advance.

Is the English original difficult to read, and what foundation is needed?

The text belongs to late nineteenth-century American popular literature; the sentences are not especially difficult, but it contains nautical vocabulary and period expressions and has no modern annotations. A moderate English reading ability is enough to attempt it; when encountering unfamiliar words, skip them first and look them up after reading.

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About the author

Smith, Francis Hopkinson, 1838-1915 Author

Francis Hopkinson Smith (1838–1915) was an American author whose biographical details are only sparsely documented in public sources. The library holds twenty-six of his works, including novels and short stories, with representative titles such as Colonel Carter's Christmas, Forty Minutes Late, Felix O'Day, The Tides of Barnegat, and A Gentleman's Gentleman. These works show that he excelled at depicting, in a gentle and humorous vein, the daily life of upper-class English and American society and the Southern gentlemanly class, with plots often revolving around etiquette, family relations, and character, conveying both the warmth and the irony of an old-fashioned genteel world. His writings occupy a place in early twentieth-century American popular literature, and some of his stories were widely read.