Endymion cover

Endymion

Rating 3.5
Word count
981K words
Chapters
99

Tags

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.Endymion by Earl of Beaconsfield Benjamin DisraeliAuthor: Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield, 1804-1881,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 27, 2006

Editor's review

Endymion is a novel by Disraeli (Benjamin Disraeli, later Prime Minister of Britain), a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg. Set against nineteenth-century British politics and society, it revolves around a young protagonist's ambitions, love, and political career, and bears clear marks of a political novel of its era. Its reading value lies in two aspects: first, observing the self-imagination and discourse of Victorian British political elites; second, appreciating Disraeli's method of weaving political views into narrative. Its language and pace pose a certain barrier for modern readers, the plot advances less tightly than contemporary novels, and there is much character debate. It is suitable as extended reading for readers interested in British political history and Victorian literature, and as reference for readers studying the relationship between Disraeli's political thought and literature. If you are simply looking for a light story, this book may seem long-winded.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers interested in Victorian British politics and literature
  • Researchers studying Disraeli's life and political thought
  • Readers who enjoy nineteenth-century English novels and can accept discursive narrative
  • English learners who need public-domain English texts for close literary reading

Not a good fit for

  • Popular-fiction readers seeking fast-paced plots and strong dramatic conflict
  • Beginners unfamiliar with nineteenth-century British political background
  • Readers who prefer a Chinese translation and do not wish to read the English original

Reading tips

  1. First learn about Disraeli's era and the background of British parliamentary politics, then enter the narrative.
  2. Read the novel as a text of political culture, noting the positions and era concepts in the characters' speeches.
  3. When encountering long passages of debate, skim first, grasp the character relationships and career threads, then return to them.
  4. If English is difficult, use a translation or introduction alongside it, clarify the plot framework first, then read the original.

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.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
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  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
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  9. 9
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  11. 11
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  27. 27
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  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
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  37. 37
  38. 38
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  40. 40
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  42. 42
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  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
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  60. 60
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  63. 63
  64. 64
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  66. 66
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  70. 70
  71. 71
  72. 72
  73. 73
  74. 74
  75. 75
  76. 76
  77. 77
  78. 78
  79. 79
  80. 80
  81. 81
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  90. 90
  91. 91
  92. 92
  93. 93
  94. 94
  95. 95
  96. 96
  97. 97
  98. 98
  99. 99

FAQ

Is this book the same work as Shelley's Endymion?
No. Shelley's is a long poem; Disraeli's is a novel. They share the same mythological figure's name, but the genre, author, and content are completely different. When purchasing or downloading, please make sure the author is Disraeli.
What background knowledge is needed to read this book?
It is best to have a basic understanding of nineteenth-century British parliamentary politics, party operations, and Victorian social customs. Disraeli himself was a political figure, and the novel's career, speeches, and social settings require some background to read smoothly.
Is this book suitable as an introduction to English literature?
Not very. Its narrative contains much discussion, its pace is rather slow, and it is deeply bound to a specific political context. Beginners may start with nineteenth-century novels with more concentrated plots, then return to this work.

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About the author

Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield (1804–188), was an English novelist and statesman. Public information is limited, and the details of his life cannot be fully set out in this entry. The collection holds nineteen of his works, including Sybil, Or, The Two Nations; Henrietta Temple: A Love Story; Vivian Grey; Coningsby Or, The New Generation; Endymion; Venetia; The Voyage of Captain Popanilla; and Lothair. These works draw largely on British political and social life, often set against the aristocracy, party conflict, and class divisions, and combine love plots with satire, marked by witty language and lively dialogue. The idea of "the two nations" put forward in Sybil has become widely known as a phrase for the social gulf between rich and poor. His novels are both readable and offer a literary perspective on nineteenth-century British political culture.

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