An American cover

An American

Rating 2.6
Word count
348K words
Chapters
35

Tags

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.An American by Belle Willey GueAuthor: Gue, Belle Willey, 1860-,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jul 10, 2011

Editor's review

An American is a literary work by Belle Wiley G., classified under American and Canadian literature, and circulated as a free ebook through Project Gutenberg. The available information gives no detailed account of its length or plot, but the author was active in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, a period when American fiction often centered on identity, social change, and individual destiny; the title itself also suggests an examination of the concept of "the American." As a public-domain ebook, its main value lies in offering readers low-threshold access to early American literary texts, making it suitable as supplementary reading for those interested in the trajectory of American literary history. It is best read with an exploratory rather than plot-driven mindset, attending to how the text presents characters' circumstances and the atmosphere of the era. Given the lack of a detailed synopsis, readers are advised to sample the opening section first before deciding whether to read it through.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers who want low-cost access to early American literary texts
  • Readers interested in the trajectory of American literary history and public-domain ebook resources
  • Readers who like to explore texts with a questioning mind and do not rely on detailed synopses

Not a good fit for

  • Readers who need a clear plot summary before deciding to read
  • Readers who prefer the pace and narrative style of contemporary fiction

Reading tips

  1. Sample the opening chapters first to get a feel for the language style and narrative pace before deciding whether to read it through.
  2. Take notes on characters' circumstances and period details while reading to help grasp the issues the work engages with.
  3. Read it alongside other American literary works of the same period to observe shared concerns of the era.

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.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35

FAQ

What is this book mainly about?
The available information only identifies it as a work of American and Canadian literature and provides no detailed plot summary. It is advisable to sample the opening section directly and learn about the characters and themes from the text itself rather than judging by a synopsis.
Why is there no detailed content introduction?
The book circulates as a public-domain ebook through Project Gutenberg, and the catalog entry contains only basic information such as author, language, and category, with no content summary attached. Readers can learn about the work by sampling it themselves.
Is it suitable for learning English?
As an early American literary text, it can be used to expand reading volume, but its language style is distant from contemporary English. If the purpose is learning, it is advisable to pair it with annotated editions or introductory materials and to sample it first to judge the difficulty.

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About the author

Belle Willey Gue Author · American · 1860

Belle Willey Gue (1860– ) was an American writer active in the late nineteenth century. Public information about her life is limited: no reliable records of her early education or family background have survived, and only her nationality and year of birth can be confirmed. One work by her is held in this collection, An American. The available profile notes that she wrote poetry and popular fiction, a direction that resembles the common literary path of American women authors of the late nineteenth century, who often worked in lyrical short pieces and narrative works addressed to general readers. Because surviving material is scarce, her writings are not widely read today and scholarly discussion of her literary standing remains limited; nonetheless, as one of the women writing in that era, her name and work offer a useful sample for studying nineteenth-century American popular literature.

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