A Roman Singer

Crawford, F. Marion (Francis Marion), 1854-1909Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 512K words
Chapters: 52

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 Roman Singer by F. Marion CrawfordAuthor: Crawford, F. Marion (Francis Marion), 1854-1909,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 1, 2004

Editor's review

This novel comes from the late-19th-century American writer F. Marion Crawford and belongs to the sequence of historical and exotic-themed works he excelled in. Set in Italy, the story revolves around the fate of a Roman singer, combining romantic plot with observations of artistic life. Crawford's pacing is unhurried, and his characterization carries the delicacy of old-fashioned fiction, making the book suitable for readers curious about the landscape of 19th-century English popular literature. This is a public-domain ebook of moderate length, with English original text of moderately high difficulty and occasional period expressions and Italian words in the sentences. Readers might treat it as a window: to see one singer's personal ups and downs, and also to see how English writers of the time depicted Southern European settings and the world of music. It suits segmented reading on commutes or before sleep; there is no need to chase speed—focus on the characters' emotions and the descriptive scenes.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy 19th-century English fiction and prefer stories with exotic settings
Literature lovers interested in music-themed narratives and artists' coming-of-age stories
Learners who wish to practice long-form English reading with public-domain ebooks

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer fast-paced suspense or strong plot twists
Beginners whose English reading is not yet proficient and who need annotated assistance

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to grasp the character relationships, then proceed chapter by chapter, avoiding jumps midway.
Mark Italian words or period expressions as you go, and look them up together after finishing a chapter.
Read alongside background material on 19th-century Italian society to better understand the characters' choices.
Read one or two chapters each night and briefly note the plot line; this helps in grasping the book's structure.

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

What English level is this book suitable for?

The original is a late-19th-century English novel with long sentences and a small amount of Italian vocabulary and period expressions. It is roughly suitable for upper-intermediate and above college English readers who can read long works continuously. Beginners may read it alongside a translation or an annotated edition.

What is the story mainly about, and is music knowledge required?

The novel revolves around the experiences of a Roman singer, involving artistic pursuits and interpersonal entanglements. No professional music knowledge is required; the descriptions of musical life mainly serve character and atmosphere, and ordinary readers can follow them smoothly.

This is a public-domain book—how should one judge the quality of the edition?

This book comes from Project Gutenberg and is a public-domain electronic text based on an early edition, so there may be minor differences in typesetting or punctuation. Readers can focus on the main text; for citation or research, it is advisable to check against other authoritative editions.

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About the author

Crawford, F. Marion (Francis Marion), 1854-1909 Author

F. Marion Crawford (Francis Marion Crawford, 1854–1909) was a notably prolific English-language novelist. The library holds 46 of his works, spanning a wide range of subjects: long novels set in Italy, such as Saracinesca, Greifenstein and Fair Margaret: A Portrait; the two-volume Ave Roma Immortalis, which portrays the history and monuments of Rome; the Arabian tale Khaled, A Tale of Arabia; and atmospheric ghost stories including The Upper Berth and Wandering Ghosts. These works show a writer skilled at evoking foreign and historical settings, with clear narrative structure and steady plotting, accomplished both in popular long fiction and in tales of the strange. His supernatural stories in particular have been favored by later anthologies and have had some influence on the English ghost-story tradition. Because public information is limited, biographical details are not elaborated here; the outline above rests on the works in the library's holdings.