As We Were Saying

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

3.0

Word count: 154K words
Chapters: 16

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.As We Were Saying by Charles Dudley WarnerAuthor: Warner, Charles Dudley, 1829-1900,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 5, 2004

Editor's review

Charles Dudley Warner was a nineteenth-century American essayist and miscellanist. As We Were Saying continues his gentle, faintly ironic essayistic manner, taking up everyday observation, social mores, and human foibles. Its value lies not in systematic argument but in the unhurried rhythm of old-fashioned periodical prose: expansive sentences, understated views, and light irony in place of preaching, so that it reads like conversation with a well-traveled elder. As a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg, it is better suited as a sample of the nineteenth-century American essay tradition than as an introductory guide. For reading occasions, one or two pieces at a time—on a commute or before sleep—works well; there is no need to push straight through. A brief acquaintance with the author's social backdrop will help readers appreciate the measure of his irony. Note that the topics and vocabulary bear clear marks of their era, and some remarks will seem tepid or remote today; readers should read with a historical eye, as a documentary specimen of the essay rather than as contemporary commentary.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy nineteenth-century British and American essays and prefer an unhurried style
Students and enthusiasts of American literature or the periodical-essay tradition
English-language readers who want short discursive pieces for fragmented time
Collector-minded readers interested in public-domain eBooks and Project Gutenberg

Not a good fit for

Academic researchers expecting systematic theory or firm conclusions
Beginners with limited English reading experience who need annotated support
Readers hoping for commentary on contemporary issues

Reading tips

Read piece by piece, one or two a day, without forcing yourself to proceed continuously from start to finish.
Skim the author's life and period background first, then return to appreciate the measure of the irony.
Mark unfamiliar vocabulary or period allusions as you go, and look them up together after finishing a piece.
Read alongside other nineteenth-century essay collections to sense differences in style and subject matter.

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 a novel or a collection of essays?

Judging from the title and the author's usual manner, it is a collection of essays rather than a novel with a continuous plot. The pieces are relatively independent and suit separate reading. Which pieces it actually contains and whether they share a unifying theme, however, should be checked against the actual eBook's contents rather than inferred from a description.

Can readers with average English read this public-domain book?

The author's prose is nineteenth-century essay writing, with long sentences and period-bound vocabulary and allusions, posing a certain threshold for non-native readers. Those with intermediate or better English reading ability can make progress with a dictionary and background materials; those with limited reading experience are advised to start with simpler texts first.

What is special about the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg was the earliest project to offer free electronic books; its editions are based on public-domain texts and are easy to obtain free and preserve long-term. Such editions usually lack modern scholarly annotation or introduction, so readers must supply background themselves, and they should not be treated as finely collated scholarly editions.

Do I need to know American history first to read this book?

Not necessarily, but it helps. The author's remarks mostly draw on the social mores and everyday observations of his time; some knowledge of the nineteenth-century American social context makes it easier to grasp the targets and measure of his light irony. Without any background, one can still begin by enjoying the style as essays and fill in the historical context gradually.

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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.