| Author |
Jacobs, W. W. (William Wymark), 1863-1943 |
| Illustrator |
Owen, Will, 1869-1957 |
| Title |
Keeping Up Appearances
Sailor's Knots, Part 12.
|
| Note |
Reading ease score: 88.7 (6th grade). Easy to read.
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| Credits |
Produced by David Widger
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| Summary |
"Keeping Up Appearances" by W. W. Jacobs is a comedic short story written in the early 20th century. The narrative explores themes of superstition and social circumstances through the life of Bill Burtenshaw, a sailor turned husband whose life is marked by his struggles with alcoholism. The story cleverly encapsulates human nature—specifically, the lengths to which one might go to fabricate a plan to maintain social appearances and personal dignity. The plot centers around Bill Burtenshaw, who has promised to his old friend Silas Winch, that the first one to die would appear to the other as a ghost. After a series of unfortunate events involving his drinking problem, Silas visits Bill in a spectral guise to warn him against alcohol. While Mrs. Burtenshaw becomes embroiled in the deception, the story culminates in a humorous twist where Bill vows to mend his ways and uphold a promise of support to Silas's widow, unwittingly entangling himself in a new web of deception. The interplay of ghostly apparitions, comical misunderstandings, and the human proclivity for self-deception provides a lighthearted yet poignant commentary on the folly of maintaining appearances amidst personal struggles. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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| Language |
English |
| LoC Class |
PR: Language and Literatures: English literature
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| Subject |
Humorous stories, English
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| Subject |
England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
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| Category |
Text |
| EBook-No. |
10792 |
| Release Date |
Jan 1, 2004 |
| Most Recently Updated |
Dec 20, 2020 |
| Copyright Status |
Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads |
81 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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