American Sketches

Whibley, Charles, 1859-1930Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 34K 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. American Sketches by Charles Whibley. Author: Whibley, Charles, 1859-1930. Language: English. Class: E151: History: America: United States. Release Date: Jun 14, 2008

Editor's review

American Sketches by Charles Whibley is a work that observes America in essayistic style, classified under American history. Whibley was a British man of letters, and his writing carries a distinctly British critical eye and literary sensibility; the book's value therefore lies not only in which American people and scenes it records, but in how a British observer selects, frames, and judges American experience. For readers, it serves as a useful companion text for understanding transatlantic cultural perceptions: one can read sketches of certain sides of American society while also sensing the curiosity and reserve with which the British intellectual world regarded America from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. As a Project Gutenberg public-domain eBook, it is easy to search and quote in full and is suitable for comparative reading alongside American travel writing and social commentary of the same period. Note that it is not a systematic work of American history but essayistic observation, and readers should remain alert to the author's stance and period prejudices.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in observations of American society from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century
Students of transatlantic mutual perceptions and British literary writing on America
Literature and history readers seeking public-domain English essays for comparative reading
Advanced readers who enjoy short sketches and fragmented reading of English originals

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking a systematic general history of America or a reliable factual overview
Beginners impatient with the British essay style and understated criticism
Readers expecting a plain, contemporary-perspective introduction to American society

Reading tips

Read it as sketches from an observer's perspective; you need not read every piece, and can start with chapters relevant to your research topic.
While reading, note the author's selections and judgments and compare them with self-accounts by American writers of the same period to discern differences in stance.
For coursework or writing, first read the table of contents and opening paragraphs to build a thematic map, then closely read representative chapters.

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 American Sketches a monograph on American history?

No. It is closer to essayistic observation and sketches; although classified under American history, it is not a systematic narrative of American history. Readers should not treat it as a general history or factual reference book, but as a period text carrying the author's stance.

What is Whibley's stance?

Whibley was a British man of letters, and his writing carries British critical sensibility and reserve. His observations of American people and affairs are often shaped by personal taste, combining curiosity with judgment. Readers should note this cross-cultural observer's position and not take the book's judgments as objective conclusions.

Is this book suitable for fragmented reading?

Relatively so. As a collection of essays, the pieces are fairly independent, and readers can choose by interest without strictly following the order. For overall study, however, it is still advisable to grasp the book's structure first and then closely read by theme, lest one see fragments but not the whole.

Comments

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About the author

Whibley, Charles, 1859-1930 Author

Charles Whibley (1859-1930) was an English man of letters and essayist. Public information about his life and education is limited, and what can be confirmed at present is chiefly his two works. A Book of Scoundrels, included in the collection, takes historical rogues, villains and criminals as its subject; its tone is pungent and satirical, and through its anecdotes about individuals it reveals an examination of human weakness. American Sketches turns instead to observations of American society and local customs, written in a concise and engaging style that combines the ease of the essay with a critical edge. Though the two works differ in subject, both show the author's habit of beginning with particular people and scenes and using a light touch to carry a critical eye. Whibley's writings preserve a British literary observer's impressions of social phenomena in his time and offer some reference value for understanding the style and interests of essay writing of the period.