Tom, Dick and Harry

Reed, Talbot Baines, 1852-1893Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 498K words
Chapters: 50

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.Tom, Dick and Harry by Talbot Baines ReedAuthor: Reed, Talbot Baines, 1852-1893,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Apr 5, 2007

Editor's review

Tom, Dick and Harry is a boys' school story by the British author Talbot Baines Reed, belonging to the Victorian tradition of school stories for young readers. Reed's style is easy and humorous; he is good at portraying friendship, rivalry, and small growing-up adventures among boys, while carrying the moral instruction typical of his time. As a free Project Gutenberg ebook, its greatest value is that readers can encounter the original face of late nineteenth-century English juvenile literature at no cost: it is both a sample of the British public-school novel and a way to feel the idiom and humor of old-fashioned English in light narrative. It suits reading in fragments on a commute or before sleep, and also works as an entry text for English learners taking on longer narrative. Note that its period background and values are clearly distant from today, and readers should appreciate it with a historical eye rather than simply identify with it. On the whole, it is a light piece for readers interested in classic juvenile literature and English reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Victorian British juvenile literature
English learners hoping to improve reading through a long English original
Readers who enjoy light school stories and tales of boys' friendship
Casual readers who want free public-domain English ebooks

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting tight suspense or a modern narrative pace
Readers impatient with old-fashioned English and period moralizing
Beginners who need a Chinese translation or bilingual reading

Reading tips

Read a chapter or two first to get the feel of the style and characters, then decide your pace.
Keep a vocabulary notebook for old slang and school terms to build up over time.
Treat the book as extensive reading; don't look up every word, focus on the plot.
After reading, compare it with the features of the British public-school novel to deepen understanding.

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

What kind of work is this book?

It is a boys' school novel popular in late nineteenth-century Britain, centered on friendship, rivalry, and everyday adventures at school, in a light, humorous style with the moral instruction common to its era. It is an entry sample for understanding the British public-school story tradition.

How difficult is the English, and is it suitable for learners?

The language is Victorian English, with older sentence patterns and vocabulary than contemporary works, though without overly difficult technical terms. Intermediate learners and above can try extensive reading, not looking up every word but focusing on plot and feel; beginners should build basic vocabulary first.

Why is this book available for free?

It is published by Project Gutenberg. Founded by Michael Hart in 1971, the project was the earliest provider of free ebooks and collects works whose copyright has entered the public domain, so readers can legally read and download them free.

What should I keep in mind while reading?

The book reflects the social background and values of the late nineteenth century, clearly different from today, for example in its understanding of masculinity and discipline. Read it with a historical eye, as a window on the juvenile literature of that era, rather than judging it by present-day standards.

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About the author

Reed, Talbot Baines, 1852-1893 Author

Talbot Baines Reed (1852–1893) was a nineteenth-century British author known for his school stories and adventure tales for boys. Sixteen of his works are held here, including The Willoughby Captains, The Adventures of a Three-Guinea Watch, The Cock-House at Fellsgarth, My Friend Smith: A Story of School and City Life, and Boycotted, and Other Stories. Most are set in boarding-school life and portray boys' friendships, rivalries, and coming of age with lively plots and humour, creating vivid youthful characters. Reed also wrote A History of the Old English Letter Foundries, reflecting his interest in and knowledge of printing-type history. Public information is limited and biographical details are hard to verify, but his school stories were popular with young readers of his day and have left a mark on the later tradition of British school fiction.