Anything Once

Isabel OstranderProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 140K words
Chapters: 15

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.Anything Once by Isabel OstranderAuthor: Ostrander, Isabel, 1883-1924,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 9, 2009

Editor's review

Isabel Ostrander (1883–1924) was an early American detective fiction writer, and Anything Once is one of her public-domain works, classified under American and Canadian literature. Given her era and genre, the book is closer to the plot-driven suspense/detective narratives popular in the early twentieth century: it emphasizes incident, questions of identity, and gradually revealed mysteries rather than modern psychological depth or social critique. Its value lies mainly in the history of genre fiction—it lets readers see the early form of detective fiction in the context of Anglo-American popular periodicals and understand where later full-length detective structures came from. As a Project Gutenberg electronic text, the book is in the original English with no modern introduction or notes, making it suitable for readers interested in early detective fiction who are willing to treat it as a genre sample rather than a canonical must-read. While reading, pay attention to narrative perspective, how clues are planted, and the distribution of character functions rather than judging it by the pacing standards of contemporary suspense.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Genre-fiction readers interested in early twentieth-century Anglo-American detective fiction
Literature students studying early detective-fiction narrative modes
English-language readers who enjoy plot-driven stories and identity mysteries and can accept an old-fashioned pace
Enthusiasts and cataloguers who collect public-domain detective-fiction e-texts

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer fast-paced modern suspense with strong twists
Beginning English readers who need detailed introductions and background notes
Readers expecting deep social critique or complex psychological portrayal

Reading tips

Read a few chapters first to get a feel for the narrative pace, then decide whether to read straight through, so you don't give up midway because of the old-fashioned exposition.
Jot down characters' identities and key clues as you go to help sort out the relationships as the mystery unfolds.
Read it within the context of early twentieth-century detective fiction, paying attention to how clues are planted and how the mystery is solved.
If reading in English is difficult, look up a plot summary first and then return to the original text to lower the barrier to understanding.

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 kind of novel is this?

Judging from Ostrander's background and the book's classification, it is a plot-driven suspense/detective novel popular in the early twentieth century, focusing on incident, questions of identity, and the revelation of mysteries rather than modern psychological depth.

Will it be hard to read without modern notes?

The text is in the original English with no modern introduction or notes, so it will be somewhat difficult for readers unfamiliar with early English usage and old-fashioned narrative pacing. Readers with at least intermediate English reading ability who are willing to look up words and sort out character relationships will find it easier to get into.

Is it suitable as an introduction to detective fiction?

It is not really suitable as a first introduction. Its value lies more in being a sample from the history of genre fiction, and its pacing and style differ considerably from contemporary suspense. If you have already read some classic detective fiction, you will be better able to appreciate its period characteristics.

What should I focus on while reading?

Pay attention to how the narrative perspective limits information, at what points clues are planted, what functions the characters serve in the mystery, and how the solution differs from contemporary suspense. These will let you read it for its significance in genre history rather than just following the plot.

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About the author

Isabel Ostrander Author · American · 1883–1924

Isabel Egenton Ostrander was an American mystery novelist of the early twentieth century, born in New York in 1883 and deceased in 1924. In addition to her own name, she published under pseudonyms such as Douglas Grant, David Fox, and Robert Orr Chipperfield. Her work was chiefly in mystery fiction, and she created characters including the blind detective Damon Gaunt. Her representative works include The Fifth Ace, Anything Once, and The Crevice. Her writing drew the attention of Agatha Christie, who parodied it in The Secret Adversary, suggesting that she had some influence in the popular mystery fiction of her time. Public information about her life and career is limited, and existing accounts focus mainly on her pseudonyms, representative works, and character creation.