Nothing to Say

Mortimer Neal Thomson (Q. K. Philander Doesticks)Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 18K 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.Nothing to Say by Q. K. Philander DoesticksAuthor: Doesticks, Q. K. Philander, 1831-1875,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 20, 2008

Editor's review

Nothing to Say is an essayistic work by the nineteenth-century American humorist Q. K. Philander Doesticks (born Mortimer Thomson), a public-domain eBook in the PS American literature class. The title is ironic—the author was known precisely for his garrulous, comic style—and the book continues his trademark exaggeration, banter, and absurd imagination, mocking the social customs and manners of his day. For today's readers its value is chiefly documentary and entertaining: it is a sample of nineteenth-century American popular humor and a reference for those studying early American newspaper humor. There is no need to look for a continuous plot; it suits casual dipping into short pieces to savor the wordplay and period flavor. Read alongside the broader tradition of nineteenth-century American humor, it yields more specific rewards.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in nineteenth-century American humorous essays and newspaper style
History and literature enthusiasts studying early American popular literature and public-domain texts
Readers who enjoy irony and exaggeration and are comfortable with fragmented reading

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a complete plot or long narrative
Beginners unfamiliar with nineteenth-century English usage and with limited reading stamina

Reading tips

Read the preface or first few chapters to catch the author's bantering tone before deciding on a pace.
Read it in scattered short essays rather than trying to finish it in one go.
Skip period allusions as needed and focus on style and comic technique.
Read alongside background on nineteenth-century American humor for fuller understanding.

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

What kind of book is this?

It is a humorous essayistic work by the nineteenth-century American writer Doesticks, a public-domain American literature eBook. It treats social observations and manners in a comic, exaggerated style; it is not a continuous novel.

Is the title Nothing to Say meant literally?

It is ironic. The author was known for his talkative humor; the title is more a self-mocking opening, and the content is full of bantering commentary rather than truly having nothing to say.

Can readers with basic English manage it?

They can try, but the book contains much nineteenth-century English and period allusion, so the bar is relatively high. It is best to use notes or reference material and read excerpts before deciding whether to finish it.

Comments

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About the author

Mortimer Neal Thomson (Q. K. Philander Doesticks) Author · American · 1831–1875

Doesticks, Q. K. Philander (1831–1875) was the pen name of Mortimer Neal Thomson, an American humorist. Born in Riga, New York, Thomson worked as a reporter for the New York Tribune. From 1854 he published humorous letters under the name Doesticks, later collected as Doesticks: What He Says. His other notable works include The Witches of New York and Nothing to Say. His writing, chiefly in the form of witty and agile epistolary pieces, captures the absurdities of urban life; he was also known for reporting on a slave auction in Savannah. Thomson died in New York in 1875. Public information about his life and work is limited, and later readers chiefly know this nineteenth-century American humorist through the works mentioned above.