Essays on Paul Bourget

Twain, Mark, 1835-1910Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 61K 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.Essays on Paul Bourget by Mark TwainAuthor: Twain, Mark, 1835-1910,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Sep 16, 2004

Editor's review

This is a collection of critical essays Mark Twain wrote on the works of the French novelist Paul Bourget, representing a lesser-known strand of his late criticism. Unlike the comic narration of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, here we meet Twain as reader and critic: with his characteristic skepticism and irony, he examines Bourget's portrayal of French society, marriage, and moralizing, mixing banter, rebuttal, and self-justifying argument. For readers familiar with Twain's fiction, the value of this book lies in seeing how a writer reads a contemporary, and how the late-nineteenth-century Anglo-American intellectual world viewed the French psychological novel. The text is short, and the original English is full of long sentences and irony, making it suitable for slow reading as short essays, or as supplementary material for studying Twain's nonfiction or transatlantic literary taste. The free electronic edition is convenient for searching and checking against the original, but provides no notes or background, so readers must supply their own basic knowledge of Bourget.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who have read Mark Twain's novels and want to explore his criticism and essays
Those interested in late-nineteenth-century European and American literary criticism and reading tastes
Literature students studying Bourget or the reception history of the French psychological novel
English learners who need short English critical essays for close-reading practice

Not a good fit for

General readers who only want Twain's humorous stories and adventure novels
Beginners with no knowledge of French literature or literary criticism
Readers expecting a systematic biography or a complete literary history

Reading tips

First learn the basics of Paul Bourget's life and major works, then read the essays to understand whom Twain is addressing.
Read essay by essay, noting Twain's arguments and ironic devices after each, rather than finishing it in one sitting.
Compare the English original with a translation or annotated edition, and watch where the irony lands in long sentences.
Read alongside Twain's other essay collections to compare the tone of his fiction and his criticism.

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 by Mark Twain?

No. It is a collection of critical essays by Mark Twain on the works of the French writer Paul Bourget, belonging to nonfiction literary criticism and argument rather than adventure stories or humorous fiction. Readers should adjust their expectations of genre and tone beforehand.

Can I understand it without knowing Paul Bourget?

You can read it, but your understanding will suffer. Twain's criticism often addresses specific works and views of Bourget; without knowing who Bourget was or what he wrote, it is easy to miss the target of the irony. It is advisable to look up a basic introduction to Bourget before entering the text.

Does this edition have notes or an introduction?

This is the free English electronic edition provided by Project Gutenberg, presenting mainly the original text and usually without modern editorial notes, introduction, or detailed background. Readers need to supplement literary-historical material themselves or read alongside an annotated edition.

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About the author

Twain, Mark, 1835-1910 Author

Mark Twain (1835–1910), born Samuel Clemens, was an American writer known for his humorous, satirical style and colloquial narration. The library holds 161 of his works, including Roughing It, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. His fiction often draws on life along the Mississippi River, depicting boyhood adventures and travel experiences in lively language, frequently using characters' voices to satirize social customs and human weaknesses. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, noted for its use of dialect and everyday speech, has had a lasting influence on the language style of later American literature. Public information is limited, so his biographical details are not elaborated here; the focus is on the subjects and writing features of his works.