Dodo Wonders--

Benson, E. F. (Edward Frederic), 1867-1940Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 359K words
Chapters: 36

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.Dodo Wonders-- by E. F. BensonAuthor: Benson, E. F. (Edward Frederic), 1867-1940,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Sep 9, 2012

Editor's review

Dodo Wonders-- is a social comedy novel in E. F. Benson's "Dodo" series and belongs to public-domain English literature. Benson is known for his light, satirical touch, and this book continues his humorous observation of the words and deeds, social scenes, and self-perception of upper-class figures. Readers can see how a self-centered yet rather charming protagonist creates comedy in everyday dealings, and can also feel the author's gentle mockery of human affairs. It does not rely on strong plot for momentum but wins through dialogue, irony, and the gradual unfolding of character, and is suited to slow, appreciative reading by those who like English humor and comedies of manners. As a Project Gutenberg eBook, it is easy to carry and allows free searching of character clues. It is well read as a "character sketch," attending to the gap between the narrator's tone and the characters' words, for that is where the humor and irony lie. For readers new to Benson, this book can serve as a light entry into his comic style.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who like English humor and comedies of manners
Readers interested in early twentieth-century English social novels
Readers who want to approach Benson's work in a lighter volume
Literary lovers accustomed to slow reading and savoring dialogue and irony

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking tense plots and fast-paced narrative
Readers impatient with social satire and dialogue-driven fiction
Readers who need the full series background to get into the story
Readers who prefer contemporary subjects and strong emotional conflict

Reading tips

Read the first two chapters to get familiar with the character relationships and narrative tone, then proceed chapter by chapter
Note the contrast between what characters say and their actual situation, and mark ironic dialogue as you go
After each chapter, summarize the social scene and shifts in characters' states of mind in one or two sentences
If the pace feels slow, read just one chapter a day and keep a relaxed reading attitude

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 I read this book directly without having read the earlier books in the series?

Usually yes. Social comedies of this kind center on character and social scenes, and each volume's story is relatively independent; but if you want to be more familiar with the protagonist's line of words and deeds, knowing the earlier books helps. Read a few pages first, and continue if you can follow the character relationships.

Is the humor hard to understand?

Its humor comes mainly from ironic dialogue and the gap in characters' self-perception, and does not depend on dense jokes. Readers unfamiliar with understated English irony may find it flat at first; slow down and attend to the implications, and the fun becomes easier to appreciate.

Is the Project Gutenberg edition suitable as material for a literature class?

It can serve as a supplementary text, free and easy to search. But the electronic edition usually has no modern annotations or introduction, so teachers using it in class need to supply background notes and a map of character relationships, and select dialogue passages suitable for discussion.

What can I do when I can't get through it?

Set it aside for now and instead read a dialogue passage from one chapter to feel the characters' tone; or treat it as light reading for observing social customs, without pressing for plot progress. If interest still fails, the subject simply does not match your reading taste, and there is no shame in switching books.

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About the author

Benson, E. F. (Edward Frederic), 1867-1940 Author

E. F. Benson (full name Edward Frederic Benson, 1867–1940) was a British writer, though public information about his life and nationality available in our records is limited. The collection holds 42 of his works, spanning a wide range of subjects: social comedies such as Queen Lucia and Miss Mapp, satirical sketches such as The Freaks of Mayfair, and novels including Scarlet and Hyssop, The Relentless City, The Angel of Pain and An Autumn Sowing. His writing is marked by witty dialogue and gentle satire, and he excelled at portraying comic figures in provincial towns and upper-class social circles. Light in tone and neatly constructed, his work has a distinctive place in early twentieth-century British popular fiction and is still enjoyed by readers today.