{"product_id":"2940013929388","title":"The Gentle Reader","description":"CONTENTS\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e                                                                    PAGE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE GENTLE READER                                                      1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE ENJOYMENT OF POETRY                                               35\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE MISSION OF HUMOR                                                  64\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCASES OF CONSCIENCE CONCERNING WITCHCRAFTS                           101\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE HONORABLE POINTS OF IGNORANCE                                    135\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHAT HISTORY SHOULD BE READABLE                                      167\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE EVOLUTION OF THE GENTLEMAN                                       201\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE HINTER-LAND OF SCIENCE                                           227\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE GENTLE READER'S FRIENDS AMONG THE CLERGY                         243\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eQUIXOTISM                                                            271\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eINTIMATE KNOWLEDGE AND DELIGHT                                       303\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Gentle Reader\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat has become of the Gentle Reader? One does not like to think that he\u003cbr\u003ehas passed away with the stagecoach and the weekly news-letter; and that\u003cbr\u003ehenceforth we are to be confronted only by the stony glare of the\u003cbr\u003eIntelligent Reading Public. Once upon a time, that is to say a\u003cbr\u003egeneration or two ago, he was very highly esteemed. To him books were\u003cbr\u003ededicated, with long rambling prefaces and with episodes which were\u003cbr\u003etheir own excuse for being. In the very middle of the story the writer\u003cbr\u003ewould stop with a word of apology or explanation addressed to the Gentle\u003cbr\u003eReader, or at the very least with a nod or a wink. No matter if the fate\u003cbr\u003eof the hero be in suspense or the plot be inextricably involved.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Hang the plot!\" says the author. \"I must have a chat with the Gentle\u003cbr\u003eReader, and find out what he thinks about it.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd so confidences were interchanged, and there was gossip about the\u003cbr\u003eUniverse and suggestions in regard to the queerness of human nature,\u003cbr\u003euntil, at last, the author would jump up with, \"Enough of this, Gentle\u003cbr\u003eReader; perhaps it's time to go back to the story.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe thirteenth book of Tom Jones leaves the heroine in the greatest\u003cbr\u003edistress. The last words are, \"Nor did this thought once suffer her to\u003cbr\u003eclose her eyes during the whole succeeding night.\" Had Fielding been\u003cbr\u003eaddressing the Intelligent Modern Public he would have intensified the\u003cbr\u003einterest by giving an analysis of Sophia's distress so that we should\u003cbr\u003eall share her insomnia. But not at all! While the dear girl is\u003cbr\u003erecovering her spirits it is such an excellent opportunity to have\u003cbr\u003euninterrupted discourse with the Gentle Reader, who doesn't take these\u003cbr\u003ethings too hard, having long since come to \"the years that bring the\u003cbr\u003ephilosophic mind.\" So the next chapter is entitled An Essay to prove\u003cbr\u003ethat an author will write better for having some knowledge of the\u003cbr\u003esubject on which he treats. The discussion is altogether irrelevant;\u003cbr\u003ethat is what the Gentle Reader likes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It is a paradoxical statement you make,\" he says, trying to draw the\u003cbr\u003eauthor out. \"What are your arguments?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen the author moderates his expressions. \"To say the truth I require\u003cbr\u003eno more than that an author should have some little knowledge of the\u003cbr\u003esubject of which he treats.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"That sounds more reasonable,\" says the Gentle Reader. \"You know how\u003cbr\u003emuch I dislike extreme views. Let us admit, for the sake of argument,\u003cbr\u003ethat a writer may know a little about his subject. I hope that this may\u003cbr\u003enot prove the opening wedge for erudition. By the way, where was it we\u003cbr\u003eleft the sweet Sophy; and do you happen to know anything more about that\u003cbr\u003escapegrace Jones?\"","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47079744143600,"sku":"2940013929388","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013929388_p0.jpg?v=1763597382","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013929388","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}