A Modern Aladdin or, The Wonderful Adventures of Oliver Munier

Pyle, Howard, 1853-1911Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.3

Word count: 246K words
Chapters: 25

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 Modern Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Adventures of Oliver Munier by Howard PyleAuthor: Pyle, Howard, 1853-1911,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Mar 9, 2015

Editor's review

A Modern Aladdin is a fantasy-tinged work by Howard Pyle whose title borrows the Aladdin motif from One Thousand and One Nights to tell of Oliver Munier's wondrous adventures. Pyle was known for his illustrations and adventure stories, and this book continues his emphasis on lively incident and imagination, making it a light adventure read. The story turns on the hero's fortunes and features fairy-tale coincidences and reversals, with a low barrier to entry. Readers curious about Pyle's literary work beyond illustration will find it a useful supplement; those who enjoy classic adventure fairy tales will also find it diverting. Note that this is a public-domain e-book with no modern introduction, and its plotting follows old-fashioned adventure narrative logic, so it should not be judged by contemporary novel standards.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy classic adventure fairy tales and fantasy stories
Readers interested in Howard Pyle's literary work
Those looking for light English public-domain reading for leisure
Enthusiasts of late 19th-century American children's literature and adventure narrative

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer realistic, serious literature or deep social themes
Readers expecting modern narrative pacing and complex character development
Beginning English readers who need simple texts for support

Reading tips

Treat it as light reading for bedtime or commuting, finishing it over several sessions.
While reading, notice how Pyle borrows the Aladdin motif and compare it with the original tale.
If interested in the author, read it alongside his illustrations to appreciate the connection between his visual and written styles.

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

How is this book related to Aladdin?

"Modern Aladdin" in the title borrows the Aladdin motif from One Thousand and One Nights to signal the hero's adventure-style experiences; it is not a rewrite or sequel of the original story. Readers need not expect the plot to match Aladdin.

Is it suitable for children?

As a classic adventure story, its content is fairy-tale-like in spirit, but the original is in English and its narrative pacing is old-fashioned, which may make independent reading difficult for younger children. It suits teenagers with some English reading ability, or reading aloud with an adult.

Does this edition include illustrations?

The Project Gutenberg edition is primarily text-based; whether it includes Pyle's original illustrations must be checked against the actual file, as the materials do not specify. To enjoy Pyle's illustrations, seek an illustrated edition for comparison.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Pyle, Howard, 1853-1911 Author

Howard Pyle (1853-1911) was an American illustrator and author. Public information about the details of his life is limited, yet he earned lasting renown through his widely circulated works. The library holds nineteen of his works, centering on medieval chivalric legends, outlaw-hero tales, and adventure stories for young readers. Representative titles include The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, The Story of the Champions of the Round Table, The Story of Sir Launcelot and His Companions, Otto of the Silver Hand, Pepper & Salt, Twilight Land, and Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates. Pyle often retold old legends in an elegant yet lively style, emphasizing characterization and an atmosphere of adventure, with illustrations and text complementing each other to make classic stories more accessible to young readers. His works have had a lasting influence on later Anglo-American children's literature and illustration art.