6 h 40 minAudiobook3 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a harbour town full of gossip, love has more than two people to please.
Salthaven by W. W. Jacobs brings you close to a coastal community of tradesmen, seafarers and neighbours with opinions to share. Courtship takes place within earshot of local gossip. Love and loyalty matter here, but so do the social rules that make honest feelings awkward to express.
Jacobs finds comedy in plain talk, dry replies and the things people leave unsaid. Money, family approval and local opinion shape the question of who may marry whom. His warm, amused view of human weakness gives this Edwardian romance its gentle humour, inviting you to notice the feelings beneath the manners.
What you’ll discover
- A harbour community Step into a small coastal world of tradesmen, seafarers, gossip and courtship.
- Wit between the words Enjoy short, dry exchanges where what remains unsaid carries much of the joke.
- Courtship under watchful eyes Explore how money, family approval and neighbours' opinions complicate the course of love.
- Warmth behind the humour Meet human weakness through an amused gaze that stays gentle rather than harsh.
- Edwardian manners up close Discover the awkward distance between honest feeling and the rules that govern courtship.
Who will love it
For readers who love gentle comedy, English coastal settings and the manners of the Edwardian age, with courtships, community gossip and dry, witty dialogue.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A harbour town sets the stage
- Comedy comes from plain talk
- Love and loyalty in small lives
- A gentle, humane view of people
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Salthaven
by W. W. Jacobs · 1908
In an English harbour town, courtship tangles with loyalty while every neighbour has a view and every plan is overheard.
Easy read5–10 hours to read25 languages
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A harbour town sets the stage
Jacobs set much of his fiction in the world of ports, wharves and riverside lodgings. He knew this world well, since he grew up near the London docks and worked as a clerk before he turned to writing. A harbour town gives a storyteller a ready supply of types: the captain home from sea, the shopkeeper with opinions, the neighbour who sees everything.
In a novel with a name like Salthaven, the place itself matters. A small port is a closed society where everyone knows everyone else. News travels fast, and reputations are made and lost over a garden fence or a pub table.
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Who wrote Salthaven?
Salthaven was written by W. W. Jacobs, the English author who died in 1943. He is best known for comic stories about sailors and dockside characters, and for the ghost story The Monkey's Paw.
What kind of book is Salthaven?
It is a light comic novel set in an English harbour town in the Edwardian period. Readers can expect romance, community gossip and the dry, understated humour that marks Jacobs's writing.
Is Salthaven hard to read?
No. Jacobs wrote in short sentences and quick dialogue, with little description. The comedy is easy to follow.
The author
W. W. Jacobs
1863–1943 · English humorist and fiction writer
William Wymark Jacobs (1863–1943) was an English writer of short stories and novels. He was born in London and lived in England. His books include the story collection Sea Urchins (1898) and the novels A Master of Craft (1900) and Salthaven (1909). He died in London.
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