The Satanic Idea

Bartsch, Rudolf Hans, 1873-1952Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 234K words
Chapters: 24

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. Der Satansgedanke by Rudolf Hans Bartsch. Author: Bartsch, Rudolf Hans, 1873-1952. Language: German. Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures. Release Date: Sep 11, 2015

Editor's review

This is a German-language novel in the Project Gutenberg public-domain library. The author, Rudolf Hans Bartsch, was a Viennese writer in German-language literature in the first half of the twentieth century. As far as the available information shows, the book falls under Germanic languages and literatures and serves as an entry point to German public-domain fiction. Its reading value lies mainly in open access and its quality as a language sample: readers can use it to observe the rhythm and diction of German narrative prose from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, and can also treat it as practice material for reading long German texts. Because this is a public-domain electronic text, the formatting and annotations are usually plain, and the reading experience depends more on the reader's own language foundation and literary interest. Suitable settings include intermediate-to-advanced German learners, supplementary material for German literature survey courses, or extended reading for readers curious about the Viennese literary circles of Austria. Those expecting a guide, detailed annotations, or a fluent modern translation will need to pair it with supporting materials.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with intermediate-to-advanced German reading ability who want to practice long German texts
Literature enthusiasts interested in German-language literature from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century
Teachers and students who need public-domain original texts for German literature courses
Independent readers accustomed to electronic texts and willing to research background on their own

Not a good fit for

Beginners with no German who need a Chinese translation or sentence-by-sentence annotations
Readers who prefer modern formatting and meticulously edited annotated paper editions
Academic readers seeking a detailed study introduction to the author's life and works

Reading tips

Read through the opening pages first to assess language difficulty and narrative pace, then decide whether to read closely or extensively
Keep a German dictionary and background notes at hand, jotting down historical names and places as they appear to avoid interrupting the reading
Read alongside German novels from the same period to compare narrative language and themes
If the goal is language learning, reading a fixed number of pages daily and reading passages aloud is more effective than cramming all at once

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 German?

According to the information, this is a German-language work from the Project Gutenberg public-domain ebook library, not a Chinese translation. Reading it requires some German foundation or the use of a dictionary and other supporting tools.

Can I read this book without any German?

It is not very suitable. This is an original German-language novel, and public-domain electronic texts usually have no Chinese annotations or introduction. Readers with no German will face major language barriers; annotated German readers or Chinese translations are recommended first.

What is the reading experience of a public-domain ebook like?

Project Gutenberg provides free public-domain texts with a focus on accessibility of content; formatting and annotations are usually plain. Readers may need to adjust font size, use reading software, and supplement background information with external materials.

Is this book suitable for learning German?

It can serve as long-form reading material for intermediate-to-advanced German learners, but it is not a purpose-built language textbook. It lacks vocabulary lists and grammar notes, so it is better suited to readers who already have some foundation and are willing to look up words on their own.

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About the author

Bartsch, Rudolf Hans, 1873-1952 Author

Rudolf Hans Bartsch (1873–1952) was an Austrian writer whose life and career have received little attention in Chinese-language scholarship. Two of his works are held in this collection: Vom sterbenden Rokoko (On the Dying Rococo) and Der Satansgedanke (The Satanic Thought). Judging from their titles and themes, his writing tends to look back on the aesthetics and lifestyle of the eighteenth-century Rococo with a sense of nostalgia and cultural loss, while images such as Satan serve to explore human nature, temptation and moral boundaries. His style is regarded as both lyrical and narrative, carefully crafted and marked by the contemplative quality common in German-language literature. Because public information is limited, details of his nationality, education, career and awards cannot be confirmed; this entry is based only on the works in the collection and verifiable general knowledge, and focuses on their themes and orientation for readers' reference.