Babylon, Volume 1

Allen, Grant, 1848-1899Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 248K words
Chapters: 25

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.Babylon, Volume 1 by Grant AllenAuthor: Allen, Grant, 1848-1899,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Nov 22, 2014

Editor's review

This novel comes from the prolific late nineteenth-century English writer Grant Allen and belongs to the Victorian tradition of popular narrative. As a free Project Gutenberg ebook, its primary value lies in accessibility and public-domain status: readers can read the work as it originally appeared at no cost, and researchers can compare texts and verify quotations. Allen's writing usually combines plot momentum with social observation, and this book is no exception, making it a sample for understanding the language style and narrative pace of nineteenth-century English popular fiction. Note that this is the first volume; plot and character threads are not resolved within it and must be read alongside later volumes for a complete judgment. The work also bears the marks of its era, and some ideas and expressions should be viewed historically. For general readers it is better suited to leisure extensive reading of English originals than as a first introductory book; for literary researchers and English learners it is a usable public-domain textual resource.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who want free public-domain English originals
Literature students studying nineteenth-century English popular fiction
English learners who want to expand vocabulary and language feel through originals
Scholarly researchers who need citable public-domain texts

Not a good fit for

Readers who only read Chinese translations and avoid English originals
Readers who expect the story to be fully resolved in a single volume
Readers impatient with Victorian narrative pacing

Reading tips

Read alongside later volumes; clarify character relationships first, then follow the plot.
Keep a vocabulary notebook; for period expressions, infer from context first, then verify.
After each chapter, briefly retell the plot to help sort out the multi-threaded Victorian narrative.
For research use, record the version source and page numbers for proper citation.

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

This is only Volume 1. Can I understand the complete story?

You cannot get the complete story from this volume alone. It is marked Volume 1, and character and plot threads are mostly unresolved by the end; later volumes are needed for a full judgment. If you read only this volume, treat it as the opening portion, focusing on character introductions and background setup.

The text comes from Project Gutenberg. What should I note when citing it?

Project Gutenberg provides public-domain electronic texts, suitable for free reading and citation, but different versions may differ in layout and proofreading. When citing, note that it is taken from this platform and record the version information obtained; for important claims, compare with other versions or print editions to avoid misquotation from transcription differences.

My English is average. Is it suitable to read the original directly?

You can try, but it should not be your first English book. The sentence patterns and period language of nineteenth-century English fiction pose some barriers for beginners. Read a plot summary first, then read chapter by chapter, breaking long sentences into subject and predicate. If the goal is language feel, set a daily limit; persistence matters more than speed.

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About the author

Allen, Grant, 1848-1899 Author

Grant Allen (1848–1899) was a late nineteenth-century British writer known both for science writing and fiction. Thirty of his works are held in the collection, spanning science fiction, detective stories, social novels, and popular science essays. His novel The Woman Who Did stirred controversy for its treatment of female independence and marriage morality; An African Millionaire presents humorous satire through the serial exploits of the swindler Colonel Clay; Hilda Wade and Miss Cayley's Adventures create determined female protagonists. In popular science, Falling in Love With Other Essays on More Exact Branches of Science and Anglo-Saxon Britain show his skill in making science accessible, while Biographies of Working Men focuses on ordinary laborers. Public information on his life is limited, but his works reveal a gift for combining scientific reason with popular narrative, giving him a place in late Victorian popular literature.