Half A Chance

Frederic Stewart IshamProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.4

Word count: 366K words
Chapters: 37

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.Half A Chance by Frederic Stewart IshamAuthor: Isham, Frederic Stewart, 1866-1922,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 3, 2004

Editor's review

Half A Chance is a novel by the American writer Frederic Stewart Isham (1866–1922), presented here by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain ebook. Isham was active in the American popular literary world of the early twentieth century; his works often deal with social manners and adventure, and this book likewise falls under American and Canadian literature (Class PS). For Chinese readers its value lies mainly at the documentary and linguistic level: it offers a window onto the narrative rhythm, character setup, and language habits of early twentieth-century American popular fiction, and can also serve as practice material for reading a full-length English novel. The Gutenberg edition is free and fully searchable, making it suitable for excerpting and taking language notes against the electronic text. One caveat: this is the original English edition and an early work, so its pacing differs markedly from today's bestsellers; readers should approach it out of interest in literary history or for language learning rather than as fast-paced entertainment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers of literary history interested in early twentieth-century American popular fiction
English learners who want to practice extended reading with a public-domain original
Researchers studying Project Gutenberg and early ebook texts
Readers who enjoy old-fashioned social and adventure narratives

Not a good fit for

Readers who want only fast-paced, plot-driven contemporary fiction
Beginners whose English reading is still weak and who need notes or a translation
Readers expecting detailed author biography and a scholarly introduction

Reading tips

Read the first two or three chapters to judge whether the pacing suits you before deciding to read through or select passages.
Keep a notebook of unfamiliar words and old-fashioned expressions as you read, using it also as language-learning material.
Read alongside background material on early twentieth-century American society and culture for smoother comprehension.
The electronic edition is searchable, so if the character relationships become confusing you can look back for earlier clues.

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

What language is this book in, and can Chinese readers read it?

This is the original English public-domain ebook, with no Chinese translation included. Readers with some ability to read a full-length English novel can read it directly; beginners should build vocabulary first or browse selected passages only, and should not use it as an introductory reader.

What are the features of the Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg was the earliest project to offer free ebooks; this book is a public-domain text it has released. It is free to obtain and fully searchable, suitable for excerpting and language study, but it generally contains no modern introduction, notes, or translator's annotations.

What kind of writer was Isham?

Frederic Stewart Isham (1866–1922) was an American novelist, and this book is classified under American and Canadian literature. The available information gives no further biographical detail, so readers should not infer his full writing career from this book alone.

Is it suitable for learning English?

It can serve as material for extensive reading of a full-length work, but it is an early book with old-fashioned expressions and a distant historical background. Read it out of interest and with a dictionary tool at hand; it is not suitable as a systematic textbook.

Comments

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About the author

Frederic Stewart Isham Author · American · 1866–1922

Frederic Stewart Isham (1866–1922) was an American novelist, journalist and playwright, born in Detroit, Michigan. He worked for about ten years at newspapers including the Detroit Free Press before turning to writing full time. He is known for historical romances and comedies, including The Strollers, Under the Rose, Black Friday and Nothing but the Truth, whose plots often turn on mistaken identity, coincidence and romantic entanglement, combining popular storytelling with a strong sense of stagecraft. Several of his works were produced on Broadway and in London and adapted into films, showing how widely his stories reached readers and audiences of his day. Isham died in New York in 1922. Beyond these outlines, public information is limited, and a full account of his work remains to be assembled.