A Master of Craft [Paperback]

William Wymark Jacobs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2005

1899. Jacobs is known especially for his sea stories. His familiarity with the wharves and the people who frequented them gave him material for these stories. He is also known for some of his short ghost tales and stories of mystery and the macabre, such as the Monkey's Paw. A Master of Craft begins: A pretty girl stood alone on the jetty of an old-fashioned wharf at Wapping, looking down upon the silent deck of a schooner below. No smoke issued from the soot-stained cowl of the galley, and the fore-scuttle and the companion were both inhospitably closed. The quiet of evening was over everything, broken only by the whirr of the paddles of a passenger steamer as it passed carefully up the center of the river, or the plash of a lighterman's huge sweep as he piloted his unwieldy craft down on the last remnant of the ebb-tide. In shore, various craft sat lightly on the soft Thames mud: some affecting a rigid uprightness, others with their decks at various angles of discomfort.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing (June 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417900830
• ISBN-13: 978-1417900831
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Another great Kindle public domain book....., April 6, 2011

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T. Bundrick "Tboom49" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Master Of Craft (Kindle Edition)

...and another serialized gem from Jacobs. This one is not a collection of tales, but rather a funny take on the sea-faring life: the philandering captain with a woman in every port. If you have never tried Jacobs before, his work is often hilarious (at least when the tale surrounds the exploits of Ginger Pete, the night watchman and other assorted seafaring types).

This story has quite a few twists and some real chuckles as the captain finds himself having to endure the attention of several females and his first-mates pithy commentary on his actions. Definitely worth a try but by no means is this Jacobs' finest work.....