Story summary
Краткое содержание: Кентервильский призрак
- Чтение: 8 мин.
- 7 parts
- Аудио скоро
A ghost of three centuries meets an American family that offers him lubricant and throws pillows at his head.
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Кентервильский призрак — кратко о книге
Краткое содержание: 8 min на чтение
- Время чтения
- Около 45 min35 min fast, 55 min slow
- Длительность
- Слов: 10 600
- Уровень в библиотеке
- Средний longer sentences, everyday words
- Первая публикация
- 1887by Оскар Уайльд
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Сколько времени нужно на чтение классики · Обновлено
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Кентервильский призрак in short
The Canterville Ghost begins as a joke about money against myth. A practical American family buys an English house and its ghost, and refuses to be frightened. Oil, pillows, pea shooters, and a hollow turnip defeat three centuries of Gothic terror, and the old spirit, Sir Simon, is left tired, proud, and alone.
What Кентервильский призрак is about
What happens when a ghost who has frightened people for three centuries meets a family that does not believe in him, and answers his groans with a bottle of oil? That is the joke at the heart of The Canterville Ghost, a comic tale by Oscar Wilde. A practical American Minister, Hiram B. Otis, buys an English country house that comes with a resident ghost, and the ghost is not at all pleased.
Wilde gives you slapstick, sharp talk about English and American manners, and a tender turn that arrives quietly in the middle of the fun. You will meet the Otis family, the old spirit who haunts them, and the house with its bloodstain and its painted prophecy.
Для кого. You will love this if you enjoy wit, comic mischief, and stories where a gentle heart sits under the jokes. It suits readers who like English country houses and playful clashes between nations.
The story in 7 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
An American family buys a house with a ghost
Mr. Hiram B. Otis, the American Minister, buys Canterville Chase even though Lord Canterville warns him that the house is haunted. The ghost has walked there since 1584, the lord explains, and it always appears before someone in his family dies. Mr. Otis is not worried in the least.
He answers that he will take the furniture and the ghost at a valuation. He comes from a modern country, he says, where money can buy everything, and any ghost in Europe would soon be on show in a museum. Lord Canterville smiles, insists that the ghost exists, and later fails to understand Mr. Otis's remark about the laws of nature.
Then the family comes down to the house. Mrs. Otis is a former New York beauty with a magnificent constitution. Washington, the eldest son, is a fine dancer who regrets his patriotic name. Virginia, fifteen years old, is a fearless horsewoman. The twins are nicknamed The Star and Stripes, because they are always being spanked.
On the first evening, old Mrs. Otis notices a dull red stain beside the library fireplace and asks the housekeeper about it. It is the blood of Lady Eleanore de Canterville, she says, killed by her husband, Sir Simon, in 1575, and it cannot be removed. Washington dismisses the claim, kneels, and rubs it away with Pinkerton's Champion Stain Remover. Lightning flashes, thunder cracks, and Mrs. Umney faints.
The stain comes back the next morning, and the next, in changing colors. Only Virginia is upset by the sight of it. A confident, practical family now stands against an old and solemn legend.
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The ghost meets oil, pillows, and insult
The stain returns for three mornings, even though Mr. Otis has locked the library and carried the key upstairs on the third night.
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Every haunting fails and the ghost declines
The ghost tries again on Sunday night.
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A kind girl finds a lonely, sleepless ghost
In autumn, Virginia comes home from a ride with the young Duke of Cheshire.
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Wilde laughs at England and America alike
The comedy runs on a clash of two cultures, and Wilde teases both.
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Beneath the jokes, love outlasts fear
Under the comedy lies a quieter question.
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A teasing voice and clear symbols tell the tale
The story is told by a narrator who speaks as I now and then.
Read all 7 key ideas now
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Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Hiram B. Otis The practical American Minister who buys Canterville Chase and believes there is no such thing as a ghost.
- Sir Simon de Canterville The proud, vain ghost who has haunted the house since 1584 and cannot bear being mocked, yet longs for rest.
- Virginia Otis The fifteen-year-old daughter, a brave horsewoman with a serious conscience, who feels pity for the ghost.
- Washington Otis The eldest son, a good dancer who scrubs away the bloodstain with his stain remover again and again.
- The twins Mischievous brothers nicknamed The Star and Stripes, who delight in pranks that torment the ghost.
- Mrs. Otis The energetic mother who meets the ghost's groans with a bottle of medicine and stays calm.
- Mrs. Umney The old housekeeper who tells the family the legend of the bloodstain and warns them of trouble.
- Lord Canterville The honorable former owner, who warns Mr. Otis of the ghost and does not follow his jokes.
How it ends (spoiler)
At midnight Virginia returns through a panel, holding a casket of jewels. She tells her family that the ghost is dead and sorry for his sins. She leads them to a hidden room where his skeleton lies chained, and the dead almond tree outside has blossomed. He is buried beneath the yew with a funeral. Lord Canterville lets her keep the jewels, and she later marries the Duke, Cecil, and keeps her secret.
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Вопросы о книге Кентервильский призрак
What is The Canterville Ghost about?
It is about an American family who buy an English country house and refuse to be frightened by its resident ghost. Their pranks wear him down, and then a kind young girl comes to understand what he really wants.
Who is the Canterville ghost?
He is Sir Simon de Canterville, who killed his wife in 1575 and has haunted Canterville Chase since his disappearance nine years later. He is proud and theatrical, with a long list of famous hauntings, yet he is also lonely.
What is the main message of The Canterville Ghost?
The story suggests that kindness and compassion can do what force and mockery cannot. It also gently makes fun of both English tradition and American practicality, showing that neither has all the answers.
Is The Canterville Ghost a true story?
No, it is a work of fiction and comic satire by Oscar Wilde, first published in the late nineteenth century. The house, the ghost, and the family are invented, though the setting reflects real manners of the period.
Is The Canterville Ghost easy to read?
It is a short story of about ten thousand words, split into seven brisk chapters. The plot is simple, the jokes are lively, and the dialogue is clear, so it suits readers of many ages.
Как сослаться на это издание
Wilde, Oscar. The Canterville Ghost. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-canterville-ghost.
Wilde, O. (2026). The Canterville ghost. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-canterville-ghost (Original work published 1887)
Wilde, Oscar. The Canterville Ghost. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-canterville-ghost.
@book{wilde2026canterville,
author = {Wilde, Oscar},
title = {The Canterville Ghost},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-canterville-ghost},
note = {First published 1887}
}
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