Cytherea

Joseph HergesheimerProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 510K words
Chapters: 51

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.Cytherea by Joseph HergesheimerAuthor: Hergesheimer, Joseph, 1880-1954,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 1, 2004

Editor's review

Cytherea is a novel by Joseph Hergesheimer published in the 1920s; its title borrows one of the epithets of the goddess Venus, hinting at the work's concern with desire and beauty. Hergesheimer was an active writer in American popular literature of the time, with a style that emphasizes sensory description and atmosphere; this novel continues his preference for emotional entanglement and exotic colour, with a plot revolving around attraction, hesitation, and choice among its characters. As a public-domain text from Project Gutenberg, it is easy to access and suitable as a sample for readers interested in American popular fiction between the two world wars, and as reference for those studying popular literary tastes of the period. It should be noted that the work is a product of its time; some of its attitudes and its narrative pace may seem slow or remote to today's readers, and it is best read with a literary-historical perspective rather than judged by the standards of contemporary fiction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in early twentieth-century American popular fiction
Literary historians studying popular literature and period tastes
Readers who enjoy slow-paced emotional narrative and atmospheric description
Those wishing to expand their English reading with public-domain texts

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking strong suspense or fast-paced plots
Readers sensitive to outdated gender attitudes
Readers looking for serious social critique

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to sense the narrative pace and style before deciding whether to read it through.
Note how the author handles scenes and sensory detail, which is central to his style.
Read with the context of early twentieth-century American popular literature in mind to understand where the work's appeal comes from.
Slower readers of English may read in sections and briefly review character relationships after each chapter.

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 does the title Cytherea mean?

Cytherea is one of the epithets of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty (Venus in Roman myth), derived from the island where she was said to have landed. As a novel title it usually suggests a connection with love, desire, or female beauty; the specific meaning is best grasped through reading the text.

Is this book suitable for English learners?

It can serve as extended reading material, but note that it is an early twentieth-century literary text whose syntax and vocabulary carry period features and whose descriptions are sometimes elaborate. It is best attempted at an intermediate level or above; with long sentences, sort out the main structure first rather than puzzling over every word.

Why is a literary-historical perspective emphasized in recommending it?

Because the novel is a popular literary product of its era, with narrative pace, characterisation, and gender attitudes that bear clear marks of the time. Reading it from a literary-historical perspective gives a better understanding of why it was popular then and avoids dismissing its value by contemporary standards.

Comments

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About the author

Joseph Hergesheimer Author · American · 1880–1954

Joseph Hergesheimer (1880–1954) was an American novelist born in Philadelphia. He first studied painting and later turned to writing. He is known for depicting the lives of the wealthy and for an ornate, decorative prose style. His representative works include The Three Black Pennys, Java Head, Linda Condon, and Cytherea. In 1922, critics rated him 'the most important American writer,' though his reputation declined in the 1930s. The collection here holds 12 of his works, including the novels Mountain Blood, Wild Oranges, and Tubal Cain. His fiction often focuses on upper-class life, with carefully wrought prose and atmosphere, giving him a distinctive place in early twentieth-century American fiction. Publicly available information on his life and work is limited, and this note relies only on verified facts and widely accepted records.