Eve's Ransom

Gissing, George, 1857-1903Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 300K words
Chapters: 31

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.Eve's Ransom by George GissingAuthor: Gissing, George, 1857-1903,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jul 1, 2003

Editor's review

Eve's Ransom is a work by the English novelist George Gissing, presented here by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain ebook. Gissing is known for depicting the hardships of lower- and middle-class life in the late Victorian era, and this novel likewise revolves around money, choice, and the fate of its characters, bearing his characteristic realism and moral concern. As a free electronic edition, its value lies first in accessibility: readers can read the complete text of this often-underrated novelist at no cost, making it a useful addition to one's reading of late nineteenth-century English fiction. Another advantage of the electronic edition is that it is easy to search and compare, making it suitable for reading alongside other works by Gissing or by his contemporaries, and for observing how individual circumstances were written about during a period of social transformation. Note that this is the original English edition, and the Project Gutenberg version is text-based, without a modern introduction or notes, so readers may need to supplement the background themselves. Overall, this is a public-domain reading suitable for literature enthusiasts and researchers to use as needed.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers interested in late Victorian English fiction
Students and scholars studying George Gissing or late nineteenth-century social realist fiction
Readers who want free access to English public-domain classics and are used to e-reading
English literature enthusiasts looking to broaden their reading of contemporary authors

Not a good fit for

Readers who want a Chinese translation and are not used to the English original
Readers expecting modern notes, introductions, or scholarly appendices
Readers who prefer fast-paced plots and have limited patience for slow realist narration

Reading tips

Learn about Gissing's life and creative background before starting the text, to better grasp his realist style.
Read alongside other late Victorian novels to observe different treatments of social issues.
For the English original, use a dictionary or e-annotation tools, noting new words and character relationships as you read.
After finishing, revisit the choices and consequences of key plot points to sort out the author's attitude toward money and morality.

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 English?

This is an English public-domain ebook released by Project Gutenberg, with the original English text and no Chinese translation. It suits readers with some English reading ability or researchers who need the English original.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg was the first project to offer free ebooks. Its editions are mainly public-domain texts, easy to obtain and search for free, but they usually do not include a modern introduction, notes, or scholarly appendices, so readers need to supplement the background themselves.

Can I read this without having read other works by Gissing?

Yes. This book is a standalone story and does not depend on prior events from other works. However, Gissing's works often involve similar social backgrounds and themes, so reading one representative work first will help you get familiar with his narrative rhythm and concerns, making this book smoother to read.

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About the author

Gissing, George, 1857-1903 Author

George Gissing (Gissing, George, 1857-1903) was an English novelist, though public information about his life and education is limited. The library holds 24 of his works, most of which focus on the living conditions of the urban lower classes and those on the margins of the middle class, while also touching on themes of personal growth and self-discipline; they are commonly classified under inspirational growth. His representative works include New Grub Street, The Odd Women, The Nether World and Born in Exile. These works mostly present individual fates under poverty, class and professional pressure in a realistic style, with a cold and restrained tone. He also wrote By the Ionian Sea, a travelogue of southern Italy, and The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft, an essayistic work, revealing his observant and introspective side, as well as short story collections such as The House of Cobwebs and Other Stories.