Danira

E. Werner (Elisabeth Bürstenbinder)Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.9

Word count: 257K words
Chapters: 26

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.Danira by E. WernerAuthor: Werner, E., 1838-1918,Language: English, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Feb 4, 2011

Editor's review

This novel is a work by E. Werner, a nineteenth-century German-language author, and belongs to the popular narrative strand of the German literary tradition. The public-domain electronic text provided by Project Gutenberg makes this work, hard to find in print, readable again, and gives it documentary value for readers studying nineteenth-century German popular fiction. The work centers on the fate of its characters and their emotional entanglements, and its narrative pace bears the distinctive marks of the serialized fiction of that era. Readers may wish to place it within the context of nineteenth-century German domestic fiction and historical romance, and to attend to characterization and the handling of moral issues. Because it is a public-domain ebook, the text has no modern introduction or notes, and readers must supply background knowledge themselves. It is suitable as supplementary reading beyond German literature courses, or for comparatists examining the interaction between popular and serious literature. Research-oriented reading is recommended over reading purely for plot excitement.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and students of nineteenth-century German literature
Readers interested in public-domain ebooks and early electronic texts
Literature enthusiasts seeking to broaden their reading of German popular fiction
Readers in comparative literature concerned with popular narrative traditions

Not a good fit for

General readers seeking fast-paced modern genre fiction
Readers unaccustomed to nineteenth-century narrative pace and style
Beginners who need modern annotations and introductions

Reading tips

First learn the basic features of nineteenth-century German domestic fiction, then begin the text.
Record character relationships and moral conflicts while reading to grasp the author's narrative intent.
Read alongside other nineteenth-century German popular novels to observe shared thematic patterns.
Use the electronic text's search function to locate key plot points, combining thematic skimming with close reading.

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 suitable for beginners in German literature?

Not very suitable for readers with no foundation at all. The work is a nineteenth-century German popular novel, and its narrative pace and style differ considerably from contemporary works; the public-domain electronic text also lacks modern annotations and an introduction. Readers with some background in German literary history, or willing to fill in the historical context first, will find it smoother going.

Why is research-oriented reading recommended over reading for entertainment?

The work's value lies more in presenting the themes and methods of nineteenth-century German popular narrative than in offering modern-style plot pleasure. Researchers can observe characterization, moral issues, and the structural features of serialized fiction; general readers seeking entertainment may find the pace slow and the distance considerable.

What should be kept in mind when using the public-domain electronic text?

The Project Gutenberg version is a free public-domain ebook, typically without a modern editor's introduction, annotations, or glossary, and formatted mainly as plain text. Readers must supply the author's background and literary-historical knowledge themselves, note version information while reading, and cite the source and access method when quoting.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

E. Werner (Elisabeth Bürstenbinder) Author · German · 1838–1918

E. Werner, the pen name of Elisabeth Bürstenbinder (1838–1918), was a German novelist. She was born in Berlin in 1838 and died in Merano in 1918. In 1870 she attracted attention with her novel Hermann, and went on to write works such as Vineta, The Sacred Vow, and The Unconquerable. The library holds 19 of her works, including The Northern Light, The Sign of Flame, Vineta, the Phantom City, A Hero of the Pen, Danira, and the two volumes of Riven Bonds. Her works are often classified as inspirational coming-of-age fiction, and many have been translated into English. Public information about her life and writing career is limited, but it is clear that she excelled at long-form narrative, often centering on faith, personal growth, and fate, and that she gained some attention among German readers and through English translations.