The Vilbar Party

Evelyn E. SmithProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 21K 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 Vilbar Party by Evelyn E. SmithAuthor: Smith, Evelyn E., 1922-2000,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Mar 13, 2010

Editor's review

The Vilbar Party is a short work by American author Evelyn E. Smith, released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain English ebook. Smith, born in 1922, wrote short science fiction and fantasy, often marked by brisk imagination and ingenious distortions of everyday life. Judging by the title, this is a short story built around a party; it is likely brief and suitable as English short reading material. The Gutenberg edition is free to obtain and easy to read on electronic devices, and it also works well for short-story selections in English classes or for science fiction fans' fragmented reading. Because the available materials provide no plot summary, readers should not presuppose a specific direction; treat it as a light English short-story experience, read it once to feel the narrative rhythm, then revisit the details. For readers studying mid-twentieth-century American popular short fiction, it can also serve as supplementary text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English learners looking for free short English fiction for reading practice
Readers who enjoy science fiction or fantasy short stories and are willing to try lesser-known works
English teachers who need short-story selections for class
Readers interested in mid-twentieth-century American popular magazine short fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for long, complex novels
Academic readers who need detailed author research materials or annotations
Beginners who have significant difficulty reading the English original and need sentence-by-sentence translation and notes

Reading tips

Read it through in one sitting first, grasping the overall atmosphere of the story, and do not look up words frequently along the way.
On the second pass, mark unfamiliar expressions and dialogue, and infer word meanings from context.
After reading, consult the list of Evelyn E. Smith's public-domain works and compare her short-story style.
If used in class, have students discuss the role of the "party" in the title within the story.

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 realistic?

The provided materials give no plot summary or genre classification, only the author Evelyn E. Smith and English public-domain information. The specific genre cannot be determined from this. Readers may read the opening to judge for themselves, or consult other public-domain catalog descriptions.

Is it long? Can it be read in one sitting?

The materials do not state a specific word count or page count. Judging by the short works collected by Project Gutenberg, it is usually fairly short. Check the actual length of the electronic file first; if it is a short story, plan to read it in one or two sittings, then revisit the details.

Can this text be used in class?

It is a public-domain English ebook released by Project Gutenberg and is suitable as classroom material for English reading or short-story analysis. Teachers can select passages according to students' level and supplement author and period background themselves, since the electronic edition may not include teaching notes.

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About the author

Evelyn E. Smith Author · American · 1922–2000

Evelyn E. Smith (1922–2000) was an American writer of science fiction and mystery fiction, born in New York, who also worked as a crossword puzzle constructor. In the 1950s she published numerous short science fiction stories in magazines such as Galaxy Science Fiction and Fantastic Universe. Her representative works include "The Blue Tower," "The Venus Trap" and "The Doorway," along with "The Most Sentimental Man," "Collector's Item," "The Princess and the Physicist" and "The Man Outside"; seventeen of her works are held in this collection. Her short stories often treat alien contact, gender relations and consumer society with wit and humour, showing neat plotting and a satirical edge. Under the pen name Delphine C. Lyons she also wrote Gothic romances and the "Miss Melville" mystery series. Public information about her life is limited, and discussion of her work focuses mainly on these magazine stories and her genre fiction.