Books with author W. W. (William Wymark),

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"The Monkey's Paw" is a horror short story by author W. W. Jacobs. It was published in England in 1902. The story is based on the famous "setup" in which three wishes are granted. In the story, the paw of a dead monkey is a talisman that grants its possessor three wishes, but the wishes come with an enormous price for interfering with fate. The story involves Mr. and Mrs. White and their adult son, Herbert. Sergeant-Major Morris, a friend of the Whites who has been part of the British Armed Forces in India, leaves them with the monkey's paw, telling of its mysterious powers to grant three wishes and of its journey from an old fakir to his comrade, who used his third wish to wish for death. Sergeant-Major Morris throws the monkey's paw into the fire and White quickly retrieves it. Morris warns White, but White, thinking about what he could use the paw for, ignores him. Mr. White wishes for £200 to be used as the final payment on his house. Following that, Herbert is killed by machinery at his company, but the couple gets compensation of £200. Ten days after the funeral, Mrs. White, almost mad with grief, asks her husband to wish Herbert back to life with the paw. Reluctantly, he does so. After a delay, there is a knock at the door. Mrs. White fumbles at the locks in an attempt to open the door. Mr. White knows, however, that he cannot allow their son in, as his appearance will be too grotesque. Mr. White was required to identify the body, which had been mutilated by the accident and then buried for more than a week. While Mrs. White tries to open the door, Mr. White makes his third wish, and the knocking stops. Mrs. White opens the door to find no one there. The theme of the story is contained in this description of the paw: "'It had a spell put on it by an old fakir,' said the sergeant-major, 'a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did it to their sorrow.'" A great number of novels, stories, movies, plays and comics are variations or adaptations of the story, featuring similar plots built around wishes that go awry in macabre ways, occasionally with references to monkey's paws or to the story itself. The story is frequently parodied on television shows and comic books, including a Simpson's tree house of horrors episode.

This interactive digital edition contains includes: Interactive Notes and Chapters, News about the Author, News about the Book, a very interesting Tag cloud of the Book and a link to connect to the Goodreads community to ask questions and share comments and opinions. This ebook contains a detailed biography including all the publications of the Author and a smart biography. A very precious collection of short stories by W. W. Jacobs, author of several humorous and ghost stories.Chapters:DescriptionBiographyIndexThe Lady Of The BargeThe monkey's pawII.III.Bill's paper chaseThe wellII.III.Cupboard loveIn the libraryCaptain RogersA tiger's skinA mixed proposalAn adulteration actA golden ventureThree at tableBibliography

William Wymark Jacobs (1863-1943), was an English author of short stories and novels. He is now best remembered for his macabre tales The Monkey’s Paw (1901) and The Toll House (in the collection of short stories The Lady of the Barge). However the majority of his output was humourous in tone. In 1879 he commenced work as a clerk in the civil service, in the Post Office Savings Bank, and by 1885 he had had his first short story published. His road to success was relatively slow. Jacobs’ short story output declined somewhat around the First World War, and his literary efforts between then and his death were predominantly adaptations of his own short stories for the stage. Amongst his works are Many Cargoes (1896), A Master of Craft (1900), Light Freights (1901), At Sunwich Port (1902), The Lady of the Barge and Other Stories (1902), Dialstone Lane (1904), Odd Craft (1904), and Short Cruises (1907).

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.