The Cheerful Smugglers

Butler, Ellis Parker, 1869-1937Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.8

Word count: 150K words
Chapters: 16

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.The Cheerful Smugglers by Ellis Parker ButlerAuthor: Butler, Ellis Parker, 1869-1937,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 23, 2008

Editor's review

This work is by the American humorist Ellis Parker Butler and belongs to the light-comedy novels among public-domain e-books. Judging from the title and the author's consistent style, it excels at creating laughs through exaggerated plots and witty dialogue, turning small calculations in everyday life into a series of comic tug-of-wars. For readers who want to understand the face of early twentieth-century American popular humor writing, this book offers an easy entry point; its short length and brisk pace also make it suitable for commuting or bedtime relaxation. Note that this is the original English edition, and the language carries a period flavor; some slang and humor require a certain English reading foundation to appreciate fully. As a free e-book from Project Gutenberg, it is better suited to leisure literary reading and extensive English reading than to serious literary research. Read it in the spirit of watching a comic sketch; do not over-scrutinize the realistic logic of the plot, and you will enjoy the author's humorous tone all the more.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who like Anglo-American humorous literature and want to read original novels lightly
People with intermediate English reading ability who want to practice extensive reading with short works
Literature lovers who want to understand the landscape of early twentieth-century American popular fiction

Not a good fit for

Beginner readers with weak English who need a Chinese translation as support
Literary readers who prefer serious themes or deep character portrayal
Readers expecting a fully annotated edition or scholarly research materials

Reading tips

Read one or two chapters first to get a feel for the author's humor and narrative rhythm before deciding whether to read the whole book.
Mark slang or period expressions as you go and look them up afterward, so as not to interrupt the flow of reading.
It suits short reading sessions on the daily commute or before bed, about one chapter at a time.

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 level of English is needed to read this book?

The original is in English, with sentence structures that are not overly complex but with early twentieth-century usage and humorous expressions. Readers with reading ability around CET-4 and a willingness to use a dictionary can basically understand it; precise word-for-word understanding requires a higher level.

Is this a complete novel or an excerpt?

This is a public-domain e-book published by Project Gutenberg and contains the full text of the work, not an excerpt. It can be downloaded free in common e-book formats from its official website.

Do I need to know the author's background to read this book?

Not necessarily. The stories are mainly light comedy, and the fun can be appreciated by reading directly. To understand the humor style more deeply, you can later look up the life and writing characteristics of Ellis Parker Butler as a supplement.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Butler, Ellis Parker, 1869-1937 Author

Ellis Parker Butler (1869-1937) was an American writer whose life is not widely documented in Chinese-language sources, and public information about him is limited. The library holds 22 of his works, including novels and humorous short stories that often draw on everyday misunderstandings, awkward situations, and the experiences of ordinary people. He is best known for "Pigs is Pigs," a widely read tale about an absurd dispute over railway shipping of guinea pigs, celebrated for its exaggerated bureaucratic logic and light touch. "Philo Gubb, Correspondence-School Detective" features a self-taught amateur detective and gently parodies detective fiction. Other works, such as "The Water Goats, and Other Troubles," "The Great American Pie Company," "The Jack-Knife Man," and "Swatty," likewise show his talent for mild satire of small-town life, family matters, and human foibles. His easy, comic style, skilled dialogue, and plot twists give him a modest place in American popular humor.