The Competitive Nephew

Glass, Montague, 1877-1934Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 442K words
Chapters: 45

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 Competitive Nephew by Montague GlassAuthor: Glass, Montague, 1877-1934,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jun 24, 2010

Editor's review

The Competitive Nephew is an English literary work by Montague Glass, classified under American and Canadian literature and now issued as a free e-book by Project Gutenberg. Glass's writing often carries the humorous, urban flavor of popular fiction; this book is short and works as light reading for understanding early twentieth-century American popular literature. Readers can go through it chapter by chapter on a commute or in leisure time, experiencing the family relationships and competitive mentality of the period through the story. As a public-domain e-book, it opens easily on a phone, tablet, or computer and suits extensive English reading practice, building vocabulary and expressions from context. Note that the original is in English and dates from an early period, so some usage and narrative pacing differ from modern works; read slowly and do not feel obliged to finish in one sitting. Overall, it is an e-book suited as an entry point to literary interest and a supplement to English reading, rather than a classic text requiring systematic study.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English learners who want to practice extensive reading with short English works
Readers interested in early twentieth-century American popular literature
Casual readers who enjoy light, humorous family stories
Readers who need free public-domain e-books to fill their e-readers

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking deep literary classics or systematic literary-historical study
Beginners with weak English who need Chinese annotations
Readers who prefer modern, fast-paced narratives and contemporary subjects

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to gauge the language difficulty, then decide whether to read closely with a dictionary.
Keep new words and interesting expressions in a separate notebook and review them after finishing.
Use the e-book's search function to review character relationships and avoid confusion over period usage.
Set a fixed number of pages each day and read continuously to grow accustomed to the narrative pace.

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 suitable for English beginners?

Not really for complete beginners or elementary learners. The original is in English and dates from an early period, so sentence patterns and word choice differ from modern English. With some vocabulary, it can serve as extensive reading with a dictionary; those with weak foundations should start with annotated simplified readers.

Why can this book be read online for free?

It is published by Project Gutenberg, a public-domain e-book resource. Project Gutenberg has long provided free e-books, and this work is one of the English literary works it includes; readers can legally obtain the electronic edition at no cost.

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

You need not study the author's life in advance. The book can be read as an independent story; begin with the text and get a feel for the characters and plot. If the author or period then interests you, look up related material afterward—it will feel more natural.

In what order should I read this book?

Read from the beginning in the e-book's original order. If your time is fragmented, proceed chapter by chapter, reading one or two at a time; pause after each chapter to review the character relationships and main conflicts before continuing.

Comments

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About the author

Glass, Montague, 1877-1934 Author

Public information about Montague Glass (1877–1934) is limited, and his writing centers mainly on the lives of Jewish immigrant businessmen in New York. Seven of his works are held in this collection, including Potash & Perlmutter: Their Copartnership Ventures and Adventures, Abe and Mawruss, Potash and Perlmutter Settle Things, Elkan Lubliner, American, The Competitive Nephew, Object: matrimony, and Worrying Won't Win. Most of these follow the business partnership of Potash and Perlmutter, using humorous dialogue and brisk plots to portray the calculations and camaraderie of immigrant merchants in their dealings, while also touching on everyday themes such as marriage and family. Glass was skilled at revealing character and speech through comedy, and his works were popular with readers for their closeness to immigrant life.