English Lands, Letters and Kings, vol. 3: Queen Anne and the Georges

Mitchell, Donald Grant, 1822-1908Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.0

Word count: 400K words
Chapters: 40

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.English Lands, Letters and Kings, vol. 3: Queen Anne and the Georges by MitchellAuthor: Mitchell, Donald Grant, 1822-1908,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Aug 27, 2011

Editor's review

This is the third volume of Mitchell's series of essays on English literature and culture, centering on Britain during the reigns of Queen Anne and the Georges. In an essayistic style the author interweaves figures, landmarks, and literary anecdotes, giving readers a vivid impression of eighteenth-century English society and literary life. Its value lies not in systematic literary history but in the narrative charm and period atmosphere offered from a literary perspective, making it a useful companion for understanding the literature of the period. The original is in English, with nineteenth-century rhetorical habits and long sentences that require a certain foundation in English and some patience. For readers who enjoy essayistic historical narrative and wish to approach the English literary tradition from the side, this book offers an accessible and informative entry point; those seeking rigorous academic scholarship or modern research will need to look elsewhere.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in eighteenth-century English literature and history who can read English
Literature lovers who enjoy essayistic literary narrative and do not seek systematic theory
Students who wish to use the English original as a supplement to understanding the Queen Anne and Georgian era
Readers collecting public-domain English literary materials who wish to broaden their reading

Not a good fit for

Beginners whose English reading is not yet proficient and who need a Chinese translation or annotated edition
Researchers seeking a systematic literary-historical framework and academic argumentation
Readers who prefer contemporary narrative pacing and have little patience for nineteenth-century long sentences

Reading tips

Begin with the table of contents and chapter titles, and start with chapters on authors or landmarks that interest you rather than reading straight through.
Keep a chronology of eighteenth-century English authors at hand and consult it when names appear to reduce obstacles.
After each chapter, note two or three key points in your own words to help organize the scattered information in the essays.
Read alongside other histories of English literature, treating this book as a supplementary perspective rather than the main line.

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 a complete history of English literature?

No. It is the third volume of the author's series written in essay form, focusing on figures, landmarks, and literary observations of the Queen Anne and Georgian period. It is a narrative work with a personal perspective rather than a systematic literary history textbook, suitable as supplementary reading rather than a main reference.

How difficult is the English?

The original comes from a nineteenth-century author, with rather long sentences and considerable rhetoric; the vocabulary is not obscure, but the expressive habits differ from contemporary English. Readers with college-level English reading ability who are willing to read slowly can manage; if it feels difficult, read a Chinese translation or background introductions to the period first.

Do I need to read the first two volumes first?

Not necessarily. Each volume covers a different period, and this book focuses on Queen Anne and the Georges, so reading it alone will not cause obvious breaks in continuity. If you like the author's style, you can go back and read the first two volumes.

Is it convenient to use as an e-book?

This book comes from a public-domain e-book on Project Gutenberg and can be obtained free, making it convenient to search names and chapters on electronic devices. A reading app that supports full-text search is recommended for quickly looking up background information on unfamiliar authors or places.

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

Mitchell, Donald Grant, 1822-1908 Author

Donald Grant Mitchell (1822–1908) was an American man of letters known for his essays and literary history. Public information on the details of his life is limited, but the five works held in this collection sketch the focus of his writing. On the one hand, he wrote the multi-volume English Lands, Letters and Kings, which traces English letters and monarchy from the Celtic and Tudor periods through to the Victorian era, with separate volumes covering the age from Elizabeth to Anne and the reigns of Queen Anne and the Georges, showing a sustained interest in English history and its literary world. On the other, Dream Life: A Fable of the Seasons is an essayistic meditation on the seasons and human life, gentle and lyrical in tone. His works combine learning with readability and will appeal to readers interested in English and American literature and historical essays.