Bartholdus Simonis

Evald Ferdinand JahnssonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.9

Word count: 104K words
Chapters: 11

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.Bartholdus Simonis by Evald Ferdinand JahnssonAuthor: Jahnsson, Evald Ferdinand, 1844-1895,Language: Finnish, Class: PH: Language and Literatures: Finno-Ugrian and Basque languages and literatures, Release Date: Aug 23, 2005

Editor's review

This work is a novel by the Finnish author Evald Ferdinand Jahnsson (1844–1895), released as a public-domain electronic text by Project Gutenberg. Jahnsson lived in an era of rising Finnish national consciousness and the emergence of realist literature, and his writing often focuses on the circumstances of ordinary people and moral conflict; this work, named after its central character, likewise continues the tradition of character-centered narrative. For Chinese readers, its value lies first of all at the documentary and linguistic level: it is primary material for understanding the face of the nineteenth-century Finnish novel and the way literary Finnish was written, and its length and linguistic difficulty make it suitable as an introductory sample of Nordic minority-language literature. Readers may find it useful to place it within the arc of Finnish literature's transition from national Romanticism to realism, noting the differences between characters' dialogue and the narrator's tone, and how the author handles the tension between individual choice and social norms. The Gutenberg version is a plain-text eBook, convenient for searching and comparative reading; read alongside background material on Finnish history and literary history, it will yield a fuller experience. It is not a plot-dense popular novel, but is better suited to slow reading with a curiosity about literary history.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Intermediate and advanced language learners of Finnish who wish to engage with original literary texts
Researchers of nineteenth-century Finnish literature and Nordic realism
enthusiasts of editions and bibliography interested in Project Gutenberg public-domain eBooks
General readers who want a brief introduction to the narrative tradition of the Finnish novel

Not a good fit for

Readers who read only Chinese translations and never engage with foreign-language originals
Casual readers expecting strong plot and fast-paced genre fiction
Beginners who need detailed annotations and introductory guidance

Reading tips

Read a general overview of nineteenth-century Finnish literature before starting the text, to understand the work's historical position.
Extract the characters' dialogue and read it separately for comparison, to appreciate the difference between colloquial expression and narrative language.
Use the search function of the electronic text to compile character names and key scenes, helping to map the structure.
After finishing, return to the opening to check whether the author's groundwork for the characters' fates is echoed consistently.

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 language is this book in? Can Chinese readers read it?

The original is in Finnish, and it is a public-domain eBook released by Project Gutenberg; no Chinese translation accompanies this edition. Readers who can read Finnish, or who are willing to read with a dictionary alongside, can use it directly; other readers are better served by treating it as material for understanding Finnish literature in its original form, read together with literary-historical background.

How does the Gutenberg version differ from an ordinary publication?

Project Gutenberg provides free electronic texts whose core purpose is to make public-domain works accessible and searchable; they usually do not include the annotations, introductions, and textual notes of modern publishers. It is suitable for reading the original and studying the text, but if detailed annotation and background are needed, one should turn to a scholarly edition or literary-historical material alongside it.

What background knowledge is needed to read this novel?

It is best to know something about nineteenth-century Finland's rising national consciousness and the realist turn in literature, and to be aware that novels of the time often used individual fates to reflect the conflict between social norms and personal choice. With this background, readers can more easily understand where the work's narrative focus lies, rather than reading it merely as a story.

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About the author

Evald Ferdinand Jahnsson Author · Finnish · 1844–1895

Evald Ferdinand Jahnsson (1844–1895) was a Finnish writer, teacher, and pastor, born in Kustavi and died in Turku. He initially wrote in Swedish, then switched to Finnish in the 1870s, producing historical plays and novels. In 1884 he published his first Finnish-language historical novel and actively promoted Finnish language and culture. Six of his works are held in the collection, including the historical tragedy Lalli: Murhenäytelmä viidessä näytöksessä, as well as Bartholdus Simonis and Raatimiehen tytär. His works often draw on Finnish history and folk life, combining dramatic tension with a sense of national identity. Public information on his early education and specific posts is limited; existing accounts focus mainly on his literary activity and his shift to Finnish.