The Ivory Snuff Box

Kummer, Frederic Arnold, 1873-1943Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 300K words
Chapters: 31

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 Ivory Snuff Box by Frederic Arnold KummerAuthor: Kummer, Frederic Arnold, 1873-1943,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Aug 30, 2009

Editor's review

This work is a detective novel by Frederic Arnold Kummer, an early American writer of popular fiction, and is a typical early twentieth-century adventure-mystery. The story centers on an ivory snuff box as its core clue; its theft and the efforts to recover it link a series of mysteries. The pace is brisk and the plot twists are dense, with the ingenuity and theatricality characteristic of detective fiction of that era, making it a useful sample for understanding the evolution of the genre. The Project Gutenberg edition is the original English eBook, freely available, convenient for searching and comparative reading at any time. For readers studying popular literature, the history of detective fiction, or English extensive reading, this book offers a light but complete textual entry point. One caveat: the language and narrative habits bear clear marks of their time, and some descriptions and attitudes may feel distant to modern readers. It is best approached through the lens of literary history and genre reading rather than with the expectation of the tight logic of modern suspense.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers of genre fiction who enjoy classic detective and adventure novels
Learners using public-domain eBooks for English extensive reading
Enthusiasts and researchers studying early twentieth-century American popular fiction
Readers who need a light original English text for reading practice

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting the tight reasoning and realism of modern crime fiction
Beginners with weak English reading skills who need annotated support
Readers sensitive to the narrative pace and attitudes of older eras

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to get a feel for the narrative pace, then sort out the character relationships by clue, so frequent twists do not throw you off.
Read alongside histories of detective fiction and note how genre conventions took shape in early works.
For English extensive reading, do not look up every word; grasp the main plot first, then mark unfamiliar words and period expressions on a second pass.

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 eBook released by Project Gutenberg. The language is English, and it is classified under American literature. A Chinese translation must be sought separately; before reading, please confirm that your English reading ability is a good match.

Can I understand it without notes?

The work is driven mainly by plot, and the language overall is not very difficult; readers with intermediate English can read it through. Some period expressions and social scenes may require a dictionary or background material, but this does not prevent you from following the main thread.

Is it suitable as an introduction to detective fiction?

It can serve as a supplementary sample of genre reading, but it is closer to early popular adventure-mystery than to modern honkaku mystery. For a systematic introduction, start with widely recognized classic detective works, then use this book to observe the genre's evolution.

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About the author

Kummer, Frederic Arnold, 1873-1943 Author

Frederic Arnold Kummer (1873–1943) was an American author whose life and education are poorly documented in publicly available sources, though his surviving works give a fair sense of his writing. Six of his books are held here, falling into two groups: detective fiction and popular reading for young people. His detective novels include The Film of Fear, The Green God, The Blue Lights: A Detective Story, and The Ivory Snuff Box; they rely on suspenseful plotting and a gradually unfolding investigation, reflecting the typical appeal of early popular detective fiction. He also wrote The First Days of Man, as Narrated Quite Simply for Young Readers, a plain account of early human history for young readers, as well as The Brute. On the whole, his work combines entertainment with the popularization of knowledge and is representative of early twentieth-century popular literature in Britain and America.