The Lonely Ones

Ludwig, Edward W., 1920-1990Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 26K words
Chapters: 3

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 Lonely Ones by Edward W. LudwigAuthor: Ludwig, Edward W., 1920-1990,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 12, 2011

Editor's review

The Lonely Ones is a short work by Edward W. Ludwig published in the mid-twentieth century, prepared by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain e-book and classified under American literature. Judging by its length and publication background, it belongs to the short stories of the early science fiction or fantasy magazine era; such works often start quickly from a single core premise and use limited scenes and characters to convey some reflection on loneliness, being different, or human estrangement. The direction indicated by the title gives the work an introspective quality, making it suitable as a sample for understanding the short-story tradition of American popular magazines. Its reading value lies in observing how the author builds atmosphere and turns within a short space, and how science fiction short stories of that era handled emotional themes. Because the public-domain edition has no introduction or notes, readers are advised first to understand the context of popular fiction in the year of publication, then enter the text, treating it as a short story that can be finished in one or two sittings.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in mid-twentieth-century American science fiction short stories
Literature enthusiasts who want to study early popular magazine fiction
English readers who prefer short works they can finish in one sitting
E-book readers collecting public-domain science fiction and fantasy texts

Not a good fit for

Science fiction readers who prefer long, grand narratives and fully built worlds
Beginning readers who need detailed annotation and background introductions
People uncomfortable with the style of early popular fiction

Reading tips

Read once to grasp the plot, then look back at the opening for foreshadowing and atmospheric setup.
Before reading, learn about the short-story tradition of the science fiction magazines of the author's era.
After reading, write down your understanding of the theme of loneliness and compare it with similar short stories.
It can serve as a short bedtime read; finish it in one sitting and then savor the ending's turn.

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 story science fiction or pure literature?

The materials classify it under American and Canadian literature, and the author, Ludwig, was active in the popular fiction field in the mid-twentieth century. Judging by the title and length, it is closer to the short stories published in science fiction or fantasy magazines of the time, often using a premise to explore loneliness and the sense of being different; but the specific subject matter must be judged by readers from the original text.

How long is it, and how long does it take to read?

This is a single short story collected by Project Gutenberg; it is short, and readers with some English reading ability can usually finish it in one or two sittings. It is suitable as short reading for the commute or bedtime, and it also lends itself to repeated rereading to appreciate the structure.

Do I need to know the author's life before reading?

Not necessarily. The public-domain e-edition has no author introduction or guide, and readers can enter the text directly. For a deeper understanding, it is more helpful to first learn about the common themes and methods of mid-twentieth-century American popular magazine short stories than to study the author's life.

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About the author

Ludwig, Edward W., 1920-1990 Author

Edward W. Ludwig (1920–1990) was an American author of science fiction whose life and writing career are poorly documented in publicly available sources. Seven of his works are held in this collection, including A Coffin for Jacob, Spacemen Die at Home, The Lonely Ones, To Save Earth, The Holes and John Smith, Juvenile Delinquent, and The Drivers. These pieces are mostly short science fiction and fantasy stories, often dealing with space exploration, threats to Earth, and the predicaments of marginal figures. His narrative style is concise and typical of mid-twentieth-century science fiction magazine fiction. Though not a widely known star author, Ludwig's short stories circulated in the science fiction periodicals of his day and are now regarded as part of the genre literature of that period, retaining some reference value for readers studying early short science fiction.