Dialstone Lane, Part 2

William Wymark JacobsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 62K words
Chapters: 7

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.Dialstone Lane, Part 2. by W. W. JacobsAuthor: Jacobs, W. W. (William Wymark), 1863-1943,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 1, 2004

Editor's review

This is the second serialized part of Dialstone Lane by the English author W. W. Jacobs, a public-domain ebook released by Project Gutenberg. Jacobs is known for his humor, and this part continues the light comic narrative built around seafaring and small-town characters, with lively dialogue and brisk plotting; it offers a sample of English popular fiction from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. As a serialized installment it is not a standalone complete work: readers need the preceding part and later parts as well to grasp the character relationships and the chain of events. For readers studying English literature (class PR) or interested in English comic fiction, this section can serve as supplementary reading; for general readers seeking pure entertainment, it is best to begin at the start of the whole book so as not to lose the pleasure for lack of prior context. The electronic edition is easy to search and cite, and suits annotated reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literature specialists studying English comic fiction and Jacobs's work
English learners who want to read public-domain originals in English
Collectors of Project Gutenberg ebook resources

Not a good fit for

General readers hoping for a complete standalone story
Readers who rely on Chinese translations rather than English originals
Beginners who need modern typography and annotated introductions

Reading tips

Read Part 1 of Dialstone Lane first and sort out the characters and events before starting this part.
Jot down characters' names and relationships as you read to reduce confusion caused by serialization.
Compare with other short stories by Jacobs to appreciate how he writes humorous dialogue.
With the English original, use a dictionary and proceed chapter by chapter rather than skipping around.

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

Can this book be read on its own?

Not really. It is the second serialized part of Dialstone Lane, and its characters and plot continue from earlier text; without Part 1 it is hard to understand the causes of events and the relationships, so it is best to read the whole book in order.

What kind of work is this?

According to the source data, it is part of a serialized novel by the English author Jacobs and falls under English literature. Jacobs is known for humorous narrative, and this part continues his light comic style, making it a suitable sample of English popular fiction.

Is the electronic edition suitable for academic citation?

It can be cited as a public-domain text, but the source should be noted as the Project Gutenberg electronic edition with its release date. Check against a print or authoritative scholarly edition to confirm pagination and textual differences before using it in formal papers.

Comments

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About the author

William Wymark Jacobs Author · British · 1863–1943

William Wymark Jacobs (1863–1943) was a British short-story writer, born in London in 1863 and died there in 1943. In his early years he lived around the Thames docks and was familiar with the lives of sailors and dockworkers, which led him to write a great many humorous sea stories, often in a light and witty tone. His best-known work, The Monkey's Paw, is a classic horror short story included in The Lady of the Barge (1902); noted for its tight suspense and sudden twists, it is still widely anthologized in horror collections. The library holds 109 of his works, including The Lady of the Barge and Others, Ship's Company, A Tiger's Skin, Captains All, and Night Watches; his common category is inspirational growth. Public information is limited and details of his life are largely unavailable, yet his fiction is distinctive in subject, blending humor with horror, and has had a lasting influence on later short-story writing.