A Duel

Marsh, Richard, 1857-1915Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 492K words
Chapters: 50

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 Duel by Richard MarshAuthor: Marsh, Richard, 1857-1915,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Nov 18, 2011

Editor's review

Richard Marsh was a late 19th- to early 20th-century British popular novelist known for tightly plotted, atmospherically gloomy thrillers and crime stories. A Duel is short, built around a confrontation and retaining the suspense devices and dramatic tension typical of late Victorian popular fiction. As a free Project Gutenberg e-book, this edition is convenient to read directly on a phone, tablet, or computer, and makes a good introductory sample of British popular fiction. Readers should not expect deep social critique or complex character psychology; the point is to feel how short narratives of that era created tension within limited space. If you are interested in British genre fiction of the Sherlock Holmes era, or want a low-cost trial read of a popular writer neglected by mainstream literary history, this book is worth an evening.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in late Victorian British popular fiction
English learners who want to practice reading with short original English texts
Those who enjoy suspense and confrontation themes and prefer light reading
Enthusiasts studying Project Gutenberg e-book texts

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting deep literary analysis and complex characterization
Beginners who need a Chinese translation or bilingual edition
People who find 19th-century English expression difficult

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the plot direction, then revisit the key confrontation passages to appreciate the pacing.
Don't look up every unfamiliar old-fashioned expression; keep reading with the help of context.
Read alongside other Victorian short thrillers to observe genre conventions.
After reading, note in a journal how suspense is set up and resolved, as reference for short-story writing.

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

Is this book in Chinese or English?

The original is in English, a free e-book provided by Project Gutenberg, with language marked as English and classification as English literature. No Chinese translation is included.

Is it long? How long does it take to finish?

This is a short work of no great length; English readers can usually finish it in one or two evenings. The exact time depends on individual English reading speed and familiarity with 19th-century expression.

Who was the author Richard Marsh?

Richard Marsh (1857–1915) was a British popular novelist whose works often dealt with thriller, crime, and supernatural themes. He was quite popular in the late Victorian period but receives little attention in later mainstream literary history.

Is it suitable for learning English?

It can serve as extensive reading material, but the text carries late 19th-century expression habits, and some vocabulary and sentence patterns are distant from modern English. It is better attempted after acquiring some foundation in reading English fiction, with priority on understanding the plot.

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About the author

Marsh, Richard, 1857-1915 Author

Richard Marsh (1857-1915) was a British novelist of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods, known for intricately plotted tales of mystery and suspense. Twenty-one of his works are held here, the best known being The Beetle: A Mystery, which belongs to the popular "monster novel" tradition of its day and echoes contemporary Gothic horror; A Second Coming draws on religious and apocalyptic themes. Other titles, such as Amusement Only, A Duel, Between the Dark and the Daylight, Miss Arnott's Marriage, Tom Ossington's Ghost and A Woman Perfected, range across the supernatural, crime, marriage and suspenseful adventure. Public information is limited and biographical details remain obscure, but his work shows a gift for atmosphere and startling twists, making him a name worth noting in the study of late Victorian popular fiction and horror literature.