A Big Temptation

Meade, L. T., 1854-1914Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 56K words
Chapters: 6

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. A Big Temptation by Maggie Brown, M. B. Manwell, and L. T. Meade. Author: Meade, L. T., 1854-1914. Language: English. Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres. Release Date: May 14, 2008

Editor's review

A Big Temptation is a juvenile novel co-authored by L. T. Meade, Maggie Brown, and M. B. Manwell, available in the Project Gutenberg public-domain eBook series. Judging from Meade's consistent creative orientation, the book continues her approach of centering on children and young people and building stories around moral choices and tests of growing up; the word "temptation" in the title signals the core conflict of the whole book: characters waver between desire, rules, and consequences, and the plot advances from there. The work is not long, its narrative thread is relatively focused, and its language bears the mark of late Victorian children's literature, with a fairly obvious didactic and admonitory tone. Its value lies mainly in serving as a reading sample for the history of children's literature and popular moral tales, helping readers understand how that era conveyed behavioral norms to young people through stories. In terms of reading scenarios, it is suitable as extensive English reading material, as a supplementary text for children's literature courses, or as light reading for readers interested in Victorian juvenile literature. It should be noted that the values expressed in the book are distant from contemporary views of childhood, and readers should view them from a historical perspective.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying late Victorian children's literature and moral tales
Learners with some English foundation who want to try extensive reading of classic juvenile fiction
Teachers and students who need a short public-domain text as supplementary material in children's literature courses
Enthusiasts interested in L. T. Meade's works and the juvenile literature of that era

Not a good fit for

Contemporary young readers expecting strong plot-driven adventure or fantasy settings
Beginners with limited English reading experience who need a Chinese translation for support
In-depth researchers hoping for detailed author biographies and textual scholarship

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to confirm the main characters and what "temptation" refers to, then read the whole book with the core conflict in mind; the thread will be clearer.
Compare the characters' choices with similar situations today and note the differences; this helps in understanding changes in the thinking of the era.
The book is not long and can be read in two or three sessions; after each session, briefly summarize changes in character motivation to avoid remembering only the plot.
If used for English learning, excerpt typical expressions from character dialogue to appreciate the language style of Victorian children's literature.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Was this book written by Meade alone?

No. According to Project Gutenberg information, the book is credited jointly to Maggie Brown, M. B. Manwell, and L. T. Meade and is a collaborative work. When reading, you may notice differences in narrative and didactic style across chapters, but you should not speculate about specific divisions of labor without supporting material.

What does "temptation" in the title refer to?

Judging from the title and Meade's usual approach to juvenile moral stories, "temptation" points to the behavioral choices and tests of consequences that characters face and is the core conflict driving the plot. Specific plot details should be based on the original text; readers can pay attention in the opening chapters to how characters' situations and inner struggles are set out.

Is this book suitable for children?

It can serve as material for understanding classic children's literature, but the ideas in the book bear the imprint of the late Victorian era and are distant from contemporary views of childhood. It is advisable for an adult to accompany the reading, or to discuss the characters' choices and consequences in classroom or parent-child shared reading, helping children understand the text from a historical perspective.

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About the author

Meade, L. T., 1854-1914 Author

L. T. Meade (1854–1914) was an author of English-language children's and young adult fiction active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Fifty-six of her works are held in this catalogue, suggesting a substantial and widely circulated output. Her representative works include school stories such as A World of Girls: The Story of a School, A Sweet Girl Graduate and Three Girls from School; a mystery-flavoured title, A Master of Mysteries; and stories set among city children, such as Scamp and I: A Story of City By-Ways and A London Baby: The Story of King Roy. Her writing generally centres on girls' growth, school life and family circumstances, with accessible plots that emphasise character and feeling while combining moral instruction with entertainment. Public information is limited, and details of her life, nationality and career cannot be reliably established; this entry describes only the themes and style suggested by the works held here.