Helena

Ward, Humphry, Mrs., 1851-1920Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 418K words
Chapters: 42

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.Helena by Mrs. Humphry WardAuthor: Ward, Humphry, Mrs., 1851-1920,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Aug 1, 2004

Editor's review

Helena is a work by the English novelist Mrs. Humphry Ward, belonging to the popular fiction tradition of late Victorian and Edwardian English literature. The Project Gutenberg edition is a public-domain English ebook, making this period of British fiction accessible at no cost. Mrs. Humphry Ward was known in her time for novels of social concern, and this book likewise attends to family, morality, and social relations, with character situations and emotional conflicts at the center of the narrative. For readers studying late nineteenth-century British women's writing, the forms of popular fiction, or seeking supplementary reading for English literature courses, this book offers a usable primary text. It is best read in the context of the transition from Victorian to modern fiction, with attention to the period features of narrative pacing and psychological characterization. As a public-domain electronic text, the formatting is plain text, suited to reading on e-readers or computers rather than to a version with annotations and introduction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literature students studying late nineteenth-century British fiction
English learners who want to read public-domain English novels for free
Readers interested in the writing of late Victorian women writers
University teachers who need supplementary texts for English literature courses

Not a good fit for

Readers who want a Chinese translation or a bilingual edition
Beginners who need detailed annotations and a scholarly introduction
General readers who prefer fast-paced contemporary fiction

Reading tips

Begin with the bibliographic information on the Project Gutenberg page to confirm the edition and language before starting the text.
Read alongside background material on late Victorian British society to help understand characters' motives.
Non-native English readers may wish to read chapter summaries first, then read key dialogue passages closely chapter by chapter.

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?

According to the information, the language of the book is English; it is a public-domain English ebook released by Project Gutenberg and contains no Chinese translation.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg is the earliest project providing free ebooks. This book is a public-domain text released by the project, mainly in plain text, easy to obtain free and to read electronically, but it offers no scholarly annotations or introduction.

What background knowledge is needed to read this book?

The book falls under English literature (Class: PR). A basic understanding of late nineteenth-century British fiction and social background is recommended, making it easier to grasp character relationships and moral issues.

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About the author

Ward, Humphry, Mrs., 1851-1920 Author

Mrs. Humphry Ward (1851–1920) was a British novelist of the late Victorian era, born Mary Augusta Arnold and known after marriage by her husband's surname. Her fiction often centres on conflicts between religious belief and moral conviction, while also touching on social reform, women's circumstances and family ethics. Her style is realistic, with finely drawn psychological portraits, and her work reached a wide readership in the English-speaking world of her day. The novel Robert Elsmere, her best-known work, stirred public debate by addressing a crisis of faith, while Marcella, The History of David Grieve and The Marriage of William Ashe likewise explore personal conviction and social responsibility. Thirty-three of her works are held in this collection. Public information is limited, so details of her life and career are not elaborated here.