A Forgotten Hero

Emily Sarah HoltProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 292K words
Chapters: 30

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 Forgotten Hero by Emily Sarah HoltAuthor: Holt, Emily Sarah, 1836-1893,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Oct 20, 2007

Editor's review

A historical novel by the prolific Victorian writer Emily Sarah Holt, this book follows the tradition of nineteenth-century English juvenile literature: it builds on a real historical backdrop and, through the changing fortunes of fictional characters, conveys moral principle and conviction. The "forgotten hero" of the title points to the ordinary, steadfast people overlooked by grand narratives, and the author seeks to let readers see the value of the voiceless. The prose bears clear marks of its era; the pacing is slow, characterisation stresses moral quality rather than psychological depth, and scenes are laid out in fine detail, making the book suited to readers willing to slow down and savour the flavour of old-fashioned English narrative. Because the subject involves history and a religious atmosphere, readers may wish to note how the author weaves the ideas of her time into the plot; this is itself a sample for observing nineteenth-century popular literature. The book is a public-domain electronic text, easy to search and compare, and makes a good introductory choice for light reading of English classics or for those interested in history and culture.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy nineteenth-century English historical fiction
Literature lovers curious about the character of Victorian juvenile literature
Learners who need a public-domain English text for reading practice
General readers interested in the theme of the "ordinary hero"

Not a good fit for

Readers of modern fiction who prefer fast pacing and strong plot conflict
Those intolerant of narrative with a strong religious or didactic colouring
Serious history readers hoping for detailed historical scholarship

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to gauge the language difficulty, then decide whether to read closely or extensively.
Skip unfamiliar historical terms at first and look them up together after finishing a chapter.
Read alongside background material on nineteenth-century English society for comparison.
Note the choices behind the "hero"'s actions in the book and reflect on the author's moral stance.

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 a work of history or a novel?

It is a historical novel: a fictional narrative set against a historical backdrop, not a rigorous work of history. Readers can treat the plot as an entry point for understanding the atmosphere of the period rather than as a record of historical fact.

How difficult is the English?

It is nineteenth-century written English, with fairly long sentences and older vocabulary, harder than contemporary popular fiction. Readers with some grounding in English and a familiarity with classical sentence patterns will find it smoother; beginners may use a dictionary and an annotated edition for support.

Why does the title say "forgotten"?

The title points to ordinary people who never entered mainstream historical records yet held fast to their convictions in daily life. Through the experiences of fictional characters, the author gives such voiceless people a chance to be seen, and this is the core idea of the book.

Comments

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About the author

Emily Sarah Holt Author · British · 1836–1893

Emily Sarah Holt (1836–1893) was a British historical novelist, born at Stubbylee, Bacup, Lancashire, and died in London on Christmas Day 1893. She wrote more than fifty books, mostly historical fiction for young readers, drawing on subjects from the Middle Ages to the Stuart era and marked by a strong Protestant Evangelical spirit. The library holds 19 of her works, including Clare Avery: A Story of the Spanish Armada, Mistress Margery, Robin Tremayne and The White Rose of Langley, as well as tales set against the Gunpowder Plot and the 1745 uprising. Her fiction emphasises historical atmosphere and moral instruction and found readers in the late Victorian period; public information on the details of her life is limited.