Arbuthnotiana: The Story of the St. Alb-ns Ghost A Catalogue of Dr.

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.2

Word count: 89K words
Chapters: 9

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.Arbuthnotiana: The Story of the St. Alb-ns Ghost (1712) A Catalogue of Dr.Author: ,Language: English, Class: DA: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Great Britain, Ireland, Central Europe, Release Date: Nov 5, 2012

Editor's review

This is a collection of early eighteenth-century English pamphlets assembled by Project Gutenberg, centering on the 1712 tale of the St Albans ghost and a catalogue text associated with Arbuthnot. Its value lies in showing the ecology of satire, rumour and debate in early modern English print culture: ghost stories were not mere tales of the supernatural but were often bound up with religious and political controversy, and the pamphlet—swift, short-form publishing—was the medium of the period's public debate. Readers can observe how the eighteenth-century English public consumed marvels and used supernatural narrative to take positions. The text is short, with period spelling and syntax, making it useful supplementary material for the study of modern British history, book history and folk rumour, and suitable for casual reading by those interested in early English satirical literature. It is best read as a historical source and stylistic specimen rather than as a continuous narrative.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Historians of eighteenth-century English print culture, pamphlet publishing and public debate
Folklore enthusiasts interested in early modern ghost lore, custom and religious controversy
Students and teachers of English literature focusing on satire and early periodical writing
Readers of short primary sources who can accept old spelling and syntax

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a full-length story or modern novelistic narrative
Readers who find eighteenth-century English spelling and syntax difficult and need a modern translation
Beginners seeking a systematic historical overview rather than scattered primary documents

Reading tips

Read the editor's introduction and table of contents first to establish the nature and publishing context of each text before reading them individually.
Situate the ghost story within the religious and political controversies around 1712 to understand its satirical targets.
Note old spellings and unfamiliar names as you go, then verify the background in one pass after finishing.
Compare with other eighteenth-century pamphlets or periodical writing to appreciate the argumentative style of the time.

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 does this document contain?

It mainly contains the 1712 text of the St Albans ghost story and a catalogue text associated with Arbuthnot, forming a collection of early eighteenth-century English pamphlet primary sources.

Is the St Albans ghost story a true event?

It is a rumour text circulating in the early eighteenth century, often used in religious and political debate; its truth is not the point. Read it for how it was told, circulated and used, not to verify the supernatural.

Why does the spelling and sentence structure feel so unfamiliar?

The text preserves early eighteenth-century English spelling, capitalization and long sentences, markedly different from modern English. This is part of its value as a historical source; use annotations or modern translations to aid understanding.

Is it suitable as reading material for a British history course?

It works as supplementary material for discussing early modern print culture, public debate and the social function of rumour. But it is scattered and short, so it should not replace a systematic textbook; use it alongside general histories and methodological guidance.

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

Project Gutenberg Author

Project Gutenberg is not a single author but a nonprofit digital library founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and one of the world's earliest free ebook platforms. It relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and freely distribute public-domain works and is now operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Its collection contains 2,692 works, mainly religious texts, epics, and story collections, including the King James Bible and the Douay-Rheims volumes, the epic Mahabharata, a literal translation of the Arabian Nights, and Danish editions of the Old and New Testaments. Public information is limited, and its nature is closer to a public-interest compiling and dissemination body; these texts are open to the public, easy to consult and circulate, and have had a profound influence on the spread of ebooks and the preservation of public-domain resources.