The Spinster Book

Reed, Myrtle, 1874-1911Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.9

Word count: 209K words
Chapters: 21

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 Spinster Book by Myrtle Reed. Author: Reed, Myrtle, 1874-1911. Language: English. Class: HQ: Social sciences: The family, Marriage, Sex and Gender. Release Date: Mar 29, 2006

Editor's review

This collection of essays discusses, in a light and faintly sardonic tone, the relationship between single women and marriage, emotion, and social expectations, and stands as a fairly representative work on gender in early twentieth-century American popular writing. Myrtle Reed is skilled at unfolding her observations in a rambling, essayistic manner; her prose is gentle yet pointed, now teasing the social prejudices of the day, now preserving sympathy for individual choice. As a free electronic text from Project Gutenberg, its value lies more in its documentary interest and reading pleasure: readers can see how public discourse about the "old maid" operated over a century ago, and can also treat it as an introductory sample of early women's popular writing. The pieces are short and suited to fragmented reading; but because the historical context differs, some ideas need to be viewed with a sense of distance.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in women's writing and gender discourse from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century
General readers who enjoy essayistic light humor and wish to read short pieces slowly
Beginning students of British and American popular literature and the evolution of social gender ideas
Intermediate and advanced English readers who need public-domain English texts for extensive reading practice

Not a good fit for

Academic readers expecting systematic gender theory or rigorous argumentation
Readers sensitive to the historical limitations of a century-old discourse on marriage and romance, who may find it uncomfortable
Readers who want only plot-driven novels and lack patience for essays

Reading tips

Begin with the table of contents and the first piece to grasp the book's teasing tone, then skip among individual pieces as interest dictates.
Pause briefly after each piece and note points that can be compared with contemporary debates on marriage and romance, forming your own judgment.
Read it alongside essays by women writers of the same period and note similarities and differences in discursive style.
For the English original, read slowly with a dictionary, focusing on colloquial sentence patterns and period vocabulary.

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 a collection of essays?

Judging from the title and the author's consistent style, it is closer to essayistic prose centered on the topic of single women than to a coherently plotted novel. Readers should not approach it expecting a novel, but should treat it as argumentative writing that can be read piece by piece.

Can I understand it without relevant historical background?

You can grasp the general sense, but the book involves marriage customs and gender prejudices in early twentieth-century American society, and without background some claims will seem abrupt. It is advisable to learn briefly about women's employment and marriage conditions of the time beforehand and to maintain a sense of historical distance while reading.

Is it suitable for learning English?

The text is in public-domain English, generally plain, with period colloquialisms and rhetoric, and is suitable for intermediate and advanced learners doing extensive reading. Some expressions, however, are no longer common; focus on understanding the meaning and feel of the language rather than imitating it word for word.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

This edition comes from Project Gutenberg and is a free electronic text, convenient for searching and excerpting on a computer or e-reader. It is a public-domain resource, laid out mainly as plain text, usually without modern annotations, so readers must supply the background themselves.

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About the author

Reed, Myrtle, 1874-1911 Author

Myrtle Reed (1874–1911) was an American writer; public information about her is limited, and many details of her life remain unclear. Fourteen of her works are held in this collection, mainly novels and essays, including Lavender and Old Lace, At the Sign of the Jack O’Lantern, Old Rose and Silver, Master of the Vineyard, A Spinner in the Sun, and The Master’s Violin. Her writing draws largely on everyday domestic life and emotional relationships, with a gentle, delicate style that uses flowers, old objects, and light to create a quiet, slightly melancholy atmosphere; her plots unfold slowly and dwell on her characters’ inner feelings. Some works carry a light touch of fantasy and humor, such as The Book of Clever Beasts: Studies in Unnatural History, which portrays animals in an anthropomorphic and inventive way. Her books were popular among early twentieth-century American readers of popular fiction and offer a useful sample of women writers’ work of that period.