Devota

Evans, Augusta J. (Augusta Jane), 1835-1909Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 79K words
Chapters: 8

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.Devota by Augusta J. EvansAuthor: Evans, Augusta J. (Augusta Jane), 1835-1909,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jul 2, 2013

Editor's review

This work comes from the hand of the nineteenth-century American woman writer Augusta Jane Evans and belongs to the tradition of sentimental and moral narrative she excelled in. The Project Gutenberg edition makes this long out-of-copyright work freely available and is of documentary value to readers studying American Southern literature and the lineage of popular fiction. The moral conflicts and emotional choices unfolded around the characters' fates offer a window into women's writing and readers' tastes of the period. Note that this electronic edition is the original English text, and Project Gutenberg chiefly aims to present the work as it stands, without modern punctuation or annotation, so readers must adjust to nineteenth-century syntax and diction. It suits supplementary reading within a literary-historical context rather than a fast-paced leisure choice.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students of nineteenth-century American women's fiction and Southern literature
eBook readers seeking free public-domain English originals
Enthusiasts of Victorian sentimental and moral narrative
Self-learners looking to expand their reading of English classics

Not a good fit for

Readers wanting a Chinese translation or bilingual edition
Readers who prefer modern fast-paced plots and plain prose
Researchers needing scholarly annotation, introduction, and textual collation

Reading tips

Read through chapter titles and character relationships first to ease the difficulty of old-fashioned syntax.
Keep an electronic dictionary at hand for nineteenth-century usage so single words do not interrupt the reading rhythm.
Read alongside works by contemporary American women writers to compare themes and narrative modes.
Advance a fixed amount each day and note character motives and moral conflicts after finishing.

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?

No. The data shows the language is English; it is a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg, with the original English text and no Chinese translation or parallel text.

What language proficiency does reading this book require?

Good English reading ability. The work dates from the nineteenth century, and its syntax and diction differ from modern English; prior experience with English novels and a dictionary are recommended.

Does this edition include notes or an introduction?

From the data, this is a public-domain electronic text released by Project Gutenberg, chiefly intended to present the original faithfully; it usually carries no modern scholarly notes, introduction, or textual apparatus, so background must be sought elsewhere.

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

Evans, Augusta J. (Augusta Jane), 1835-1909 Author

Augusta J. Evans (1835–1909) was a nineteenth-century American novelist. Public information about her is limited; she is known to have nine works, including Inez: A Tale of the Alamo, St. Elmo, Macaria, Beulah, Vashti Or, Until Death Us Do Part, Devota, Infelice, and At the Mercy of Tiberius. These titles suggest that her fiction drew on historical events and on emotional and moral themes, often centering on women's fates, marriage, and faith, with detailed plotting and a sentimental, didactic tone. Inez is set against the events of the Alamo, showing her interest in history, while works such as St. Elmo revolve around love and family. Her novels are representative of nineteenth-century American popular fiction and offer insight into the creative concerns of women writers of her time.