At a Winter's Fire

Capes, Bernard Edward Joseph, 1854-1918Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 315K words
Chapters: 32

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.At a Winter's Fire by Bernard Edward Joseph CapesAuthor: Capes, Bernard Edward Joseph, 1854-1918,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Nov 14, 2004

Editor's review

At a Winter's Fire is a work by the English writer Bernard Edward Joseph Capes (1854–1918), classified under English literature and released as a free ebook by Project Gutenberg. In the history of English literature, Capes is known chiefly for his short fiction in the fantasy and weird-tale vein, and both the title and the format of this book carry the atmosphere of a fireside tale, suited to being read piece by piece on a winter's night or in quiet hours. As a public-domain text, its value lies in giving readers low-cost access to the feel and flavor of late Victorian to Edwardian popular English fiction: unhurried narration, atmosphere prized above shock, and stories that often advance through suspense and suggestion. There is no need to read it straight through; reading it in installments at the pace of the individual pieces allows its flavor to come through better. The text is in the original English, without modern annotation, and suits readers who already have some grounding in English reading and an interest in early weird and fantasy short fiction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy winter fireside weird and fantasy short stories
Those interested in late Victorian popular English fiction
Learners who wish to do extensive reading in English through short pieces
Reading enthusiasts who collect public-domain ebook resources

Not a good fit for

Readers who read only Chinese and do not wish to engage with the original English
Readers expecting the strong shocks of modern horror fiction
Beginners who need sentence-by-sentence annotation and background explanation

Reading tips

Read in installments by piece, one each night, ideally in a quiet setting.
Skim the piece titles first and start with those whose atmosphere appeals to you.
Note how each piece sets up its suspense, and observe the narrative techniques of early weird tales.

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 short-story collection or a novel?

Judging by the title and Capes's usual manner of writing, it is closer to a collection of short pieces meant for fireside telling, suited to reading piece by piece. For the exact arrangement of the pieces, consult the table of contents in the ebook itself; readers can read each piece independently and need not follow a strict order.

What level of English is needed to read this book?

The text is original English from around the early twentieth century, with rather long sentences and period-flavored diction, so an intermediate reading level or above is recommended. When you meet an unfamiliar word, try guessing from context first; if the overall sense is not affected, there is no need to look it up constantly.

Why is it said to suit winter reading?

The title itself evokes the scene of storytelling by the fire. Such works tend to advance through atmosphere and suspense at a gentle pace, and are well suited to being read piece by piece in a quiet, dimly lit setting, which fits the mood of winter night reading.

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About the author

Capes, Bernard Edward Joseph, 1854-1918 Author · British · 1854–1918

Bernard Edward Joseph Capes (1854–1918) was a British novelist. Public information about his life and education is limited, and later readers have come to know him mainly through his works. In his writing he favored ghost, mystery, and historical subjects, skillfully creating a dark and eerie atmosphere and weaving supernatural elements into everyday settings, so that his stories maintain tension between suspense and terror; in his historical tales, careful research and imagination set each other off, giving the narratives a strong sense of period. One of his works is held in this collection, At a Winter's Fire, which offers a glimpse of his narrative craft in short fiction. On the whole, his output was modest and his influence remained largely within popular literary circles, yet because of his careful cultivation of mysterious atmosphere he is still regarded as one of the participants in the tradition of British fantasy and ghost stories from the late Victorian to the Edwardian era.