De baanwachter

Hendrik ConscienceProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 132K words
Chapters: 14

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.De baanwachter by Hendrik ConscienceAuthor: Conscience, Hendrik, 1812-1883,Language: Dutch, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Sep 6, 2004

Editor's review

This work comes from the hand of the 19th-century Flemish writer Hendrik Conscience and belongs to his vein of fiction grounded in local life and moral concern. The title “De baanwachter” may be understood as a railway crossing keeper; such subject matter typically uses an ordinary post to portray the responsibility, perseverance and twists of fate of ordinary people, bearing a strong mark of its era and a realist tendency. As a Dutch-language public-domain e-book in the Project Gutenberg collection, its primary value lies in documentary availability and its significance as a language sample: readers can thereby encounter the feel, sentence patterns and vocabulary of 19th-century Dutch narrative prose, and can also observe the social mores and values of the time. One need not expect modern suspense or fast-paced plotting; it is better suited to close reading as a classical novel with a moral import. It is suitable for readers studying Dutch literature, comparative literature or translation practice as source-language material, and also for readers interested in the history and culture of the Low Countries to browse at leisure on an electronic device. It should be noted that this book is in the original Dutch and has no bilingual text or annotations; the language barrier is the main obstacle in actual reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Intermediate and advanced learners of Dutch who wish to engage with 19th-century source texts
Students and enthusiasts studying Dutch literature or the history and culture of the Low Countries
Translators engaged in translation practice who need samples of classical Dutch narrative
Readers accustomed to public-domain e-books who are willing to read classical novels slowly

Not a good fit for

General readers with no knowledge of Dutch who want only a Chinese translation
Readers who prefer modern fast-paced plots and strong suspense
Beginners who need detailed annotations, introductions or teaching materials

Reading tips

First read through a chapter to get a feel for the language, then look up words paragraph by paragraph; do not strive for complete understanding at the outset.
Keep pen and paper at hand to note recurring period vocabulary and forms of personal address, so as to grasp the relationships between characters.
Read alongside reference works on Dutch literary history to understand the social and literary context of the author.
Use the e-book search function to mark place names and occupational terms, and review them after finishing to sort out the social background.

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 Dutch?

This book is in the original Dutch; it is a public-domain e-book released by Project Gutenberg and contains no Chinese translation or bilingual text. Some ability to read Dutch is needed beforehand; otherwise understanding the dialogue and narration will be noticeably difficult.

There are no annotations or introduction; how can I read it more smoothly?

It is advisable first to read quickly for the general sense, temporarily skipping incidental words that do not affect the main thread; on the second pass, focus on verifying recurring key words and the historical background. Online dictionaries and reference works on Dutch literary history can also help; there is no need to insist on word-for-word translation.

Is this book suitable for learning Dutch?

It is suitable for intermediate and advanced learners as extended reading material, because the sentence patterns and vocabulary of 19th-century narrative prose are distant from modern spoken language and can train long-sentence comprehension and literary language sense. But beginners should not use it as an introductory textbook; the lack of annotations will add to frustration.

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About the author

Hendrik Conscience Author · Belgian · 1812–1883

Hendrik Conscience (1812–1883) was a Belgian Flemish-language novelist. Born in Antwerp, he took part in the Belgian Revolution of 1830. In 1838 his historical novel De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (The Lion of Flanders) founded the tradition of the Flemish novel, and he has been called "the man who taught his people to read." His works mostly draw on Flemish history and country life, blending historical romance with realistic sketches of ordinary existence. The library holds 21 of his works, including the German translation Der Löwe von Flandern, De Kerels van Vlaanderen, De Ziekte der Verbeelding, De baanwachter, The Amulet and The Poor Gentleman. Beyond the outline of his life, public information on his education and official career is limited, and none is supplied here.