Collector's Item

Robert Franklin YoungProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 8.3K words
Chapters: 1

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.Collector's Item by Robert F. YoungAuthor: Young, Robert F., 1915-1986,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 22, 2009

Editor's review

Collector's Item is a short science fiction story in English by Robert F. Young, published in the mid-twentieth century and now recirculated as a public-domain ebook through Project Gutenberg. Its value lies not in length or fanfare but in the clean economy typical of short science fiction of that era: the premise usually turns on a clever idea, the narrative moves briskly, and the ending often carries a touch of reversal. For contemporary readers, such a text is an interesting sample of how early science fiction handled motifs like collecting, rarity, and value judgment, and it conveys the lightness and alertness of science fiction before the industrial production of novels. As reading material, it suits a commute or bedtime short read, easy to finish in one sitting; it also fits into a reading context of science fiction history or genre literature, to be compared with works of the same period. Note that public-domain ebooks usually lack modern introductions and annotations, so readers should bring a little awareness of the text's historical background.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to finish a complete English short science fiction story in fragmented time
Genre readers interested in mid-twentieth-century English short science fiction
People who want to encounter public-domain science fiction through low-cost electronic texts
Learners who prefer plot-driven short stories in English reading practice

Not a good fit for

Science fiction readers expecting a long-form world or complex character arcs
Readers who need modern annotations, introductions, and detailed background materials
People uncomfortable with the narrative pace and idea-driven writing of early science fiction

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the plot and ending, then go back to notice the foreshadowing and conceptual clues the author planted.
If reading the English original, note unfamiliar period expressions separately and look them up together after finishing.
Read it alongside a contemporary English science fiction short story to sense the common features of genre writing at the time.
After reading, write in two or three sentences what you understand the 'collector's item' to refer to, to check whether you have caught the irony.

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 work suitable for English beginners?

It is short and relatively focused in plot, so it can work as extensive reading material; but the text dates from the mid-twentieth century, and some wording and sentence patterns carry period traces, so complete beginners may find it hard going. It is better to try after reaching an intermediate level of English reading, or to read a Chinese summary first and then go to the original.

What is the difference between a public-domain ebook and an ordinary publication?

This ebook comes from Project Gutenberg and is a digitized circulation version of a public-domain text, usually containing only the work's main text and basic bibliographic information, generally without a modern editor's introduction, annotations, or copyright page. Readers should not expect publication-grade typesetting or supplementary materials, and should focus on the text itself.

Do I need to know science fiction history before reading this short story?

No. The story can be read on its own, and you can enjoy it without knowing the author and era. If you want a deeper reading, you can briefly learn about common approaches in mid-twentieth-century English short science fiction after finishing, then look back at this work's choices in idea and structure, which will give you more to appreciate.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Robert Franklin Young Author · American · 1915–1986

Robert Franklin Young was an American science fiction writer, born on June 8, 1915, in Silver Creek, New York, and died in the same place on June 22, 1986. He worked mainly in short fiction over a career spanning more than three decades, and his poetic, romantic style has often led critics to compare him with Ray Bradbury and Theodore Sturgeon. His representative works include The Girl in His Mind and Star Mother, and he received a Hugo Award nomination for Best Short Story in 1965. Six of his works are included in the collection, among them Star Mother, Sweet Tooth, Collector's Item, The Servant Problem, The Girl in His Mind, and A Knyght Ther Was, commonly classified under inspirational growth. Public information about the details of his life is limited, however, and existing accounts focus mainly on the themes and style of his work.