Penelope's Postscripts

Wiggin, Kate Douglas Smith, 1856-1923Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 175K words
Chapters: 18

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.Penelope's Postscripts by Kate Douglas Smith WigginAuthor: Wiggin, Kate Douglas Smith, 1856-1923,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Aug 1, 1999

Editor's review

This is a collection of essays and epistolary sketches by Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856–1923), belonging to the American and Canadian literature category. In a light, delicate style, the author records everyday observations and character sketches; the prose is warm and accessible, carrying the tenderness and humor characteristic of late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century American popular literature. Its value lies in offering a window onto the social life and women's writing style of the period. The pieces are short and self-contained, making the English original suitable for fragmented reading. Readers need not seek plot momentum, but may instead attend to the narrator's tone, diction, and period atmosphere; for those studying American popular literature or practicing English essay reading, this book serves as a lightweight supplementary reader. Note that it is a public-domain e-book with no modern annotations, so some cultural background must be looked up by the reader.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy English essays and prefer light, everyday subjects
Learners who want to practice extensive English reading and build vocabulary through short pieces
Readers interested in American social life from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century
People who need reading for fragmented time and do not seek continuous plot

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting strong plot or a complete novel structure
Beginner English learners who need modern annotations and vocabulary explanations
Readers impatient with old-fashioned style and slow narrative

Reading tips

Read piece by piece, one or two at a time, without necessarily following order
Keep a small notebook for recurring period expressions and forms of address
First read a piece straight through to grasp the tone, then revisit its structure to see how the author closes the short piece
If used for English study, choose one piece for reading aloud and retelling practice

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 or an essay collection?

According to the available information, it belongs to the American and Canadian literature category and is a collection of Wiggin's essays and epistolary sketches, not a full-length novel driven by a complete plot. It is suitable for reading piece by piece; there is no need to look for a main storyline running through the whole book.

Can readers with average English skills manage it?

You can try, but this is a public-domain original e-book without modern annotations or vocabulary lists, and the style bears marks of its era. Middle-level English reading ability or above is recommended, or read with a dictionary and background materials; otherwise old-fashioned expressions may cause difficulty.

Does the e-book have a table of contents or annotations?

The information only shows that this is a public-domain e-book from Project Gutenberg; no table of contents or annotations are mentioned. In practice you may need to arrange the reading order yourself and look up cultural background and old words separately.

Comments

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About the author

Wiggin, Kate Douglas Smith, 1856-1923 Author

Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin (1856–1923) was an American writer of children's literature. Because public information is limited, the details of her life are not elaborated here. The library holds 37 of her works, covering children's novels, holiday stories, and coming-of-age themes. Her best-known book, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, features a lively and clever country girl, written in a bright, humorous style with close attention to character and everyday life. The Birds' Christmas Carol, Penelope's Progress, Timothy's Quest, New Chronicles of Rebecca, A Cathedral Courtship, and Mother Carey's Chickens likewise center on family, childhood, and warmth. Her writing is fresh and natural, often observing the world through a child's eyes, and her works had a certain influence on English-language children's literature of her time.