Cast Adrift

Timothy Shay ArthurProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 488K words
Chapters: 49

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.Cast Adrift by T. S. ArthurAuthor: Arthur, T. S. (Timothy Shay), 1809-1885,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 1, 2003

Editor's review

Cast Adrift is a work by T. S. Arthur, a nineteenth-century American writer of moral fiction, and forms part of the Project Gutenberg free eBook collection. Arthur specialized in domestic ethics and personal choice; this book continues his concern with human frailty and social temptation, using his characters' fates to explore themes of self-discipline, responsibility, and character. As a public-domain electronic text, it preserves the language and narrative rhythm of nineteenth-century American popular literature and will appeal to readers interested in American literary history, the moral-fiction tradition, or nineteenth-century social attitudes. Readers need not seek thrilling plot twists; instead they should attend to how the author uses story to convey admonition, and to how that narrative mode resonates today. For those curious about the origins of the eBook, this volume also offers an occasion: Project Gutenberg has promoted free electronic texts since 1971, and this book is a product of that public cultural project. Enter with a dual mindset of literary-historical source material and leisure reading, appreciating the flavor of old-fashioned narrative while considering the contemporary relevance of its moral questions.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in nineteenth-century American literature and the moral-fiction tradition
Literature lovers who want to read public-domain English classics for free
Readers studying Project Gutenberg and the history of the eBook
Readers who enjoy slow-paced, character-centered old-style narratives

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking intense plot conflict and fast-paced narrative
Readers uncomfortable with nineteenth-century English expression and admonitory style
Readers hoping for modern psychological description or complex narrative technique

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to grow accustomed to the rhythm and diction of nineteenth-century English prose
Note passages where characters face temptation and choice, and observe the author's admonitory technique
Draw on background material about Project Gutenberg to understand the significance of public-domain electronic texts
If reading in English proves difficult, follow the main thread via a Chinese summary before returning to the original

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 in Chinese or English?

This is an English-language original published by Project Gutenberg, with the language marked as English and classified under American and Canadian literature. Chinese readers will need some English proficiency, or may use dictionaries and辅助 tools.

What is Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg was the first project to provide free electronic books, founded by Michael Hart in 1971, and it continues to promote the development of eBooks and related technologies. This book is one of the public-domain electronic texts it has released.

What themes is this book suitable for studying?

It is suitable for readers interested in nineteenth-century American moral fiction, domestic-ethics narrative, and the admonitory tradition of popular literature. It can also serve as a sample for understanding the public-domain eBook project and the early dissemination of electronic texts.

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About the author

Timothy Shay Arthur Author · American · 1809–1885

T. S. Arthur (Timothy Shay Arthur, 1809–1885) was a nineteenth-century American popular novelist and editor. Born in Newburgh, New York, he later settled in Philadelphia. He wrote more than 150 novels in his lifetime; 31 of his works are held in this collection, commonly classified under inspirational and personal growth. His writing often centers on temperance and family ethics, using everyday domestic scenes and the changing fortunes of his characters to convey moral lessons, with accessible plots and a strong didactic flavor typical of his era. His best-known work, Ten Nights in a Bar Room, was widely popular across the United States, with sales second only to Uncle Tom's Cabin. His other works include Trials and Confessions of a Housekeeper, Grappling with the Monster; or, the Curse and the Cure of Strong Drink, The Two Wives, and Cast Adrift. Public information on his early education and career is limited, and existing accounts focus mainly on the themes and broad influence of his works.