Atlantic Classics

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 380K words
Chapters: 38

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.Atlantic Classics by Katharine Baker et al.Author: ,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 14, 2011

Editor's review

Atlantic Classics is an English-language anthology of essays and sketches by Katharine Baker and other authors, classified under American and Canadian literature and released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain eBook. Its value lies not in a single author's complete narrative but in the texture and interest of several pieces from the English essay tradition on both sides of the Atlantic: the prose is unhurried, the subjects close to daily life and humanistic observation, making it a good sample of English essay style from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Because it is a public-domain eBook, access is extremely easy; readers can open it on a phone, computer, or e-reader at any time, and it is also well suited to extensive reading in language study. Note that this is a multi-author collection, not a representative work by one writer; the themes and quality of the pieces are not uniform, so readers may prefer to choose by interest rather than read page by page. For readers used to strong plots and fast-paced narrative, such essays require more patience; but for those who want to build English feel and experience the rhythm of the essay, it is a light and reliable selection.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English learners who want to build language feel through short essays
Readers interested in English essays of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
People who need light reading for commutes or fragmented time
Researchers collecting public-domain texts in American and Canadian literature

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer strong plots and fast-paced fiction
Beginners who need a modern Chinese translation or annotations
Readers expecting a complete representative work by a single author

Reading tips

Start with the table of contents and pick pieces of interest; no need to read from beginning to end
After each piece, summarize the main idea in two or three sentences to check comprehension
When you meet a new word, guess from context first and look it up after finishing
Read aloud as practice to feel the rhythm and pauses of essay sentences

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

Is this book a novel or an essay collection?

The metadata places it among works of American and Canadian literature, compiled from writings by Katharine Baker and others; it is closer to an anthology of essays and sketches than a single-plot novel. The pieces are relatively independent, so readers can choose by piece.

Can I read this book if my English is average?

As a public-domain English essay collection, its language is rather traditional, and sentences may be longer than in modern popular writing. Readers with intermediate English reading ability who are willing to look up words can try it; start with shorter pieces and use a dictionary and reading aloud to adjust to the style.

Why does this book have multiple authors?

The metadata shows that the book was compiled or collected by Katharine Baker and others, making it a multi-author anthology. Such selections are common in public-domain libraries, gathering pieces on one theme or of one type, so the style and subject of the pieces are not entirely uniform.

Comments

Find this book

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.