Count Hannibal: A Romance of the Court of France

Weyman, Stanley John, 1855-1928Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.4
Word count
608K words
Chapters
61

Tags

English Originals Historical Fiction Court IntriguePower GamesAntiheroRomantic AdventureFrench Court

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.Count Hannibal: A Romance of the Court of France by Stanley John WeymanAuthor: Weyman, Stanley John, 1855-1928,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: May 3, 2005

Editor's review

Stanley Weyman was a major author of British historical romance from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, and this novel, set in the French court, belongs to the historical adventure genre he excelled in. The work interweaves court intrigue, confrontations between characters, and a love plot; it moves at a brisk pace, with dialogue driving the action, and offers the typical pleasures of popular historical fiction. For Chinese readers, it provides a sample of how British popular literature imagined the French court: there is both a dramatic historical atmosphere and a clear division between good and evil, along with adventure set pieces. It suits reading in installments on the commute or before bed, as an introductory text for understanding this generic tradition. Note that its historical depiction serves the plot and should not be used as rigorous historical material; the English original poses some vocabulary challenges for non-native readers, and an annotated edition or bilingual tools may help.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Read one chapter first to get a feel for the language, then decide whether to read closely or extensively.
  2. Take brief notes on historical names and titles to help clarify relationships among characters.
  3. Read it as genre fiction, focusing on plot structure and dialogue technique rather than historical detail.
  4. After reading, compare it with other British historical romances to see how imaginations of the court differ.

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.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
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  11. 11
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  25. 25
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  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
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  60. 60
  61. 61

FAQ

Is the historical background of this book reliable? This is a historical romance; the historical background mainly serves plot and atmosphere, and characters and events are treated literarily. It can be read as an introduction to this generic tradition, but it is not a rigorous reference for French court history, and facts should be checked in specialized works.
Is the English original difficult to read? As an English novel of the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, its syntax and vocabulary bear the marks of its era and pose some challenge for non-native readers. An annotated e-edition or a dictionary is recommended; grasp the main plot first, then return to detailed description.
Is it suitable as English-learning material? It can serve as extended reading but not as an introductory textbook. Its complete narrative and abundant dialogue help familiarize readers with narrative English, but archaic expressions and historical vocabulary add burden. It is best used at intermediate reading level or above, with priority on understanding the plot.

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About the author

Weyman, Stanley John, 1855-1928 Author

Stanley John Weyman (1855–1928) was a British writer of historical novels, known for vivid scenes and tightly plotted adventure romances. Thirty of his works are held in this collection, mostly set in sixteenth- to eighteenth-century France and England and often involving religious wars, court intrigue and chivalric adventure. His representative novel A Gentleman of France, cast as the memoirs of Gaston de Bonne, is joined by Under the Red Robe, Shrewsbury, The Wild Geese and For the Cause, which likewise follow characters caught in historical upheaval. His fiction is notable for atmosphere and narrative pace; it found readers in its day and influenced later English historical adventure fiction. Because public information is limited, his early life and education are not discussed here.