Guilty Bonds

Le Queux, William, 1864-1927Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 345K words
Chapters: 35

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. Guilty Bonds by William Le Queux. Author: Le Queux, William, 1864-1927. Language: English. Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature. Release Date: Nov 23, 2012

Editor's review

Guilty Bonds is an English-language novel by William Le Queux, belonging to the English literature category and now released by Project Gutenberg as a free eBook. Le Queux was a popular fiction writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his works are typically marked by suspense, conspiracy, and international adventure, and this book is no exception. The story revolves around guilt, implication, and secrets, with the plot advancing through suspense and the gradual revelation of characters' relationships, making it suitable for readers interested in late Victorian to Edwardian popular narrative. As a public-domain eBook, its value lies not only in the text itself but also in the form of early eBook distribution it represents: Project Gutenberg has promoted free electronic reading since 1971, and the release of this book continues that tradition. When reading, it can be placed within the context of popular suspense fiction, paying attention to how the author handles the metaphor of "guilt and debt" and the choices characters make in moral dilemmas. Since the language is English, readers with a certain English reading ability are advised to choose it, and to use background materials on the period to better understand the social context.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy late Victorian English popular suspense fiction
Learners who wish to expand their English reading through free public-domain eBooks
Readers interested in themes of guilt, secrets, and characters' moral dilemmas
Enthusiasts studying early eBooks and public-domain book distribution

Not a good fit for

Readers with limited English reading ability who need a Chinese translation for assistance
Readers expecting complex literary experimentation or modern narrative techniques
Readers who prefer nonfiction or historically researched reading materials

Reading tips

Read through the first two chapters, noting the main characters and unresolved clues, then continue.
When encountering unfamiliar words, first guess from context and look them up after finishing the chapter to preserve suspense.
Use brief materials on late Victorian British social background to understand the logic of characters' behavior.
After finishing, review the key turning points and sort out how "guilt" and "implication" are gradually revealed by the author.

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 the original English edition, released by Project Gutenberg, with the language marked as English and belonging to the English literature category. Chinese readers need a certain English reading ability or should use a dictionary and auxiliary tools.

What is Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg is the earliest project providing free eBooks, founded by Michael Hart in 1971, dedicated to digitizing public-domain books and making them freely available. This book is one of the eBooks released by the project.

What background knowledge is needed to read this book?

Familiarity with common themes of late 19th- to early 20th-century English popular fiction, such as suspense, conspiracy, and moral dilemmas, will help with entering the text. No specialized academic background is necessary, but a certain English vocabulary will make reading smoother.

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

Le Queux, William, 1864-1927 Author

William Le Queux (1864–1927) was a British writer of popular fiction, with 74 of his works held in this collection. He is best known for invasion-scare and spy-adventure stories; The Invasion of 1910, which depicts a German invasion of Britain and the siege of London, drew considerable attention in its day, and The Great War in England in 1897 belongs to the same vein. His other works centre on mystery, intrigue and international espionage, such as The Zeppelin Destroyer, The Secrets of Potsdam, The Closed Book: Concerning the Secret of the Borgias and The Golden Face: A Great ‘Crook’ Romance, all marked by tight plotting and dense suspense. Le Queux often set fictional crises against real places to create a sense of urgency, and his work had some influence on the development of early spy fiction and thrillers. Public information is limited, so biographical details are not elaborated here.