Fables for the Times

Phillips, Henry Wallace, 1869-1930Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 17K words
Chapters: 2

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. Fables for the Times by Henry Wallace Phillips. Author: Phillips, Henry Wallace, 1869-1930. Language: English. Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature. Release Date: Sep 18, 2004

Editor's review

Fables for the Times is a collection of fables by Henry Wallace Phillips, using short stories to reflect observations on the world. Phillips was active in American literary circles from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, and his fables often carry light satire and wit, using animals or everyday characters to mirror human nature and the spirit of the age. The book works well as a light entry point to English literature: the pieces are short and clearly structured, so readers can read them one by one in spare moments, or use them as material for English learners to experience the fable form. Note that this is a public-domain ebook organized and released by Project Gutenberg; the text is in English and contains no Chinese translation or introduction, so readers need some English reading ability. Those expecting deep social critique or tightly structured plots may find the book slight, but as a sample of modern American fable writing and the short satirical tradition, it still has reading value, especially for readers who enjoy aphoristic endings and understated irony.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to read short English fables in spare moments
Literature enthusiasts interested in late nineteenth-century American popular literature
Learners who need short English texts for close-reading practice
Readers who enjoy understated irony and aphoristic endings

Not a good fit for

Beginning readers who need Chinese translation or detailed notes
Readers expecting long, continuous plots and complex character development
Readers hoping for systematic social critique

Reading tips

Read three to five fables each time, then summarize the moral in one or two sentences to train your ability to distill meaning.
When you meet unfamiliar words, first guess from context and look them up after finishing the whole piece, so you keep your reading rhythm.
You can compare several fables on the same theme to see how their satirical methods differ, and take simple notes.

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 in Chinese or English?

This is the original English edition, released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain ebook. The main text contains no Chinese translation or notes, so it suits readers with basic English reading ability.

Do I need to read it in order from beginning to end?

No. The fables are relatively independent, so you can skip around by interest or choose a few to read each day; if you want to follow the development of the author's style, you can also read in order and jot down themes as you go.

Is this book suitable for learning English?

It can serve as supplementary material. The pieces are short and the sentences are relatively complete, making them suitable for close reading and retelling practice; however, the text is from an earlier period, and some expressions differ from modern English, so using a dictionary alongside is recommended.

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About the author

Phillips, Henry Wallace, 1869-1930 Author

Public biographical information on Henry Wallace Phillips (1869–1930) remains limited, and his writing centers mainly on the American West. Seven of his works are held here, including Red Saunders: His Adventures West & East, Plain Mary Smith: A Romance of Red Saunders, and The Mascot of Sweet Briar Gulch, most of which follow the character Red Saunders and his Western adventures in a popular-fiction narrative mode. Other short and fable-like works, such as Red Saunders' Pets and Other Critters, Mr. Scraggs, and Fables for the Times, are light and humorous in tone, dealing with frontier life as well as social satire. On the whole, his writing is known for its popular and comic character and offers readers insight into American Western popular literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.